Fortuities
by Channah
Summary: RS Chasing the awfully familiar FTA, getting shot at by his enemies and suddenly being kidnapped by a stranger, who strangely seems to know a lot about her, Steph's life can't get any worse. Right?
1. Distraction

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. I just get to play a little with the characters. –grin-

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**Chapter 1 **

**Distraction**

It was seven o'clock in the morning when my alarm clock woke me. As usual my first stop was the bathroom where I got my next shock – my hair!

Sleepily I greeted Rex who already run merrily through his cage. I asked myself how he got that disciplined to do sports so early in the morning, and decided it had to be the male genes.

Ranger also jogged early in the morning.

I put on some dark blue jeans and a black Rangers' tee-shirt and left the apartment. As always I met Mrs Bestler in the elevator.

"Good morning, Stephanie! Where may I bring you?"

Shaking my head I stood next to her in the elevator and let me drive to the first floor. No question needed, all of the old people in the other apartments of that house were nice and affable, but each of them got a spleen.

The spleen of Mrs Bestlers was driving people in the elevator in her spare time.

I climbed into the Buick and drove to the next bakery. I bought some donuts and went back home in a cheerful mood in anticipation of my breakfast.

Rex welcomed me with shaking moustache.

I put some salad into his cage and took a seat on a chair in front of him, while eating my donuts.

"You know, Rex, my life really sucks."

The black button eyes of my hamster darted to me and his teeth were busy stashing his food away somewhere in the back of his little mouth.

"I got a mother who wants to transform me into a perfect Burg-housewife; an on-again, off-again boyfriend who is a Cop and who hates my job; an ex-Ranger with questionable morals as almost-lover; and all those psychos who want to kill me on a regular bases...and last but not least: I'm driving a Buick!"

That ugly baby blue thing was family property. My Dad loved it more than anything else and during the last couple of months I often had had no other choice than driving Baby Blue.

Because annoyingly this car was indestructible.

I, Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter by profession, have destroyed about a dozen cars… And half of them even hadn't been mine, only borrowed ones…

Hastily I grabbed another donut.

"Maybe Mom was right and I really should make another attempt to find a job at the button factory…I certainly will be safe there. At least now that Con Stiva has been caught…"

Rex paused for a moment and looked at me disapprovingly.

"Okay, okay, I won't go to the button factory…You're right, that's nothing for me. Mmh, but what then? I really need a distraction…Well, how about vacation? You and me in the Caribbean? Huh? Wouldn't that be great?" I had to smile to myself at this thought. "Yeah, I guess, a little vacation of everything here would be good…"

The intention in mind to ask my cousin Vinnie for holidays, I grabbed the keys and drove to the office.

When I went through the door Connie and Lula stopped working and looked up at me, grinning stupidly.

"Hey Steph!"

"Yo, girl!"

I lolled on the sofa and watched Connie and Lula, trying my best to ignore their annoying smirks.

"Is there a new FTA?"

The grin widened.

"Hell, yeah!" Connie said and burrowed through her files.

"That's going to knock you off your socks, ol' girl!" Lula assured me and slapped her portly thighs.

I stood up cluelessly, took the file Connie handed me over, and read through the personal details of the FTA.

I stared in shock at the name on top of the file.

"Dickie Orr!"

Nodding.

O my god.

"Wow…" I fell back onto the couch and tried to handle that piece of information.

Every thought of vacation which had crossed my mind was instantly blown away.

"Shall I get ya a bagel?" Lula asked as she sank on her knees right in front of me, worriedly, as I remained silent for about five minutes.

I only shook my head and looked at Connie.

"What has he done?"

Connie shrugged. "Nothing great, actually. He drove through Burg like a kook and rammed several cars. But he just went on driving. An owner of one of those cars noted his number plate and reported to the police. However, Dickie didn't show up at the Court."

Thoughtfully I furrowed my brow. This was so unusual for him. Don't get me wrong, _I_ knew a whole lot to tell about my ex-husband that would be good stuff for the Burg gossip machine, but, well, he was nobody who did criminal actions on purpose. He wasn't the type doing something like that…he was rather the type cheating on your wife curtly after the wedding on the diner table…

I shivered in disgust and tried to get away from those thoughts.

Slowly I rose to my feet and made my way to the door.

"I guess, I go and visit him at his office then."

"Hey, wait! You can't leave without me! What if he's going all the mob boss on you and grabs a hidden gun out of his desk and shoots two bullets in your head, so nobody will ever be able to recognise you?"

Connie and I stared at Lula.

Lula shrugged. "What? You certainly need a tough hand there, you skinny white ass. Lucky you that I just have my break."

"You've had your break half an hour ago when you went to the bakery to buy a dozen donuts."

Shrugging once again, she asked. "Your point?"

Suddenly the door to Vinnie's office burst open to reveal my cousin who looked awfully red and sweaty in his face.

"You're staying here and work! I'm not paying you for playing bodyguard for one of my bounty hunters and buying tons of food!" he barked.

Hands on hips, Lula put on her best glare. "Yo, don't tell me what I have to do, otherwise I'll come and cut off your-"

Before she could say something that would certainly would have cost her her job, I elbowed her. "It's all right, Vinnie, it won't last long."

Vinnie grunted reluctantly and very squirmy, before turning around and vanishing into his office, slamming the door behind him.

Lula beamed and stepped next to me. "That was fun."

I decided to just roll my eyes.

Waving her car keys in front of my face, a rather stubborn look crossed her face. "Yo, girl, we're gonna drive with my car. Even not that hot ass of Ranger's gonna get me in yours!"

She snorted disapprovingly. "It'd just cause damage to my reputation."

This time I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.

Running excitedly out of the office while yelling "This is so gonna be fun!" I wondered if some alien had invaded my mind when I agreed to take her with me. Since my hands weren't wrinkled or green coloured, I thought that maybe I instead had lost my mind.

Or Lula lost hers.

I said goodbye to Connie and stepped outside.

Looking up into the clouded sky, I decided it was a really depressing day. No holidays, no hot sweaty sex within three days, just an ex-husband to search for.

I loved my life.

"Hey, are you adhered to the ground? Swing your little white ass over here! Time is money!" Lula yelled, already seated in her red Firebird.

I was just about to go over to her car, when I felt a presence straight behind me. Okay, it wasn't really feeling, rather just a certain certitude and the traitorous prickle in the back of my neck.

When you've been working with Batman for a little over three years, you acquire special abilities, which in common knowledge are known as the sixths sense.

"Do you know something about Dickie Orr?" I asked without turning around.

Ranger's hand clasped around my neck effortlessly. My skin burned under his touch.

"He's a bad driver, Babe," he said a little husky into my ear.

Typical Ranger humour.

I ignored the sensations he caused by this simple action – inwardly thanking the donuts – and rolled my eyes.

He leaned into me, his muscled body brushing lightly against me, and I could hear the amusement in his voice, when he said, "Saw that, Babe."

I shrugged out of his grasp and simply walked away from him. Well, okay, I admit: It was everything _but_ simple.

I felt his gaze burning holes into my head and tried to walk as casual as possible to Lula's car. My legs felt like wobble pudding.

When I eventually managed to climb into the Firebird on the passenger side, Lula gasped in complete awe.

"What a man!" she exclaimed breathlessly.

Never heard something truer.

* * *

_Just an idea. _

_What do you think about it?_


	2. The job: My exhusband

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. I just get to play a little with the characters. –grin- Neither do I own Indiana Jones.

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**Chapter 2**

**The job: My ex-husband**

My heart still needed to slow down from the unexpected encounter with Ranger, while Lula went into Dreamland and lost herself into one of her Batman fantasies.

Nothing you want to hear about, I can tell you.

We drove along the streets, the car shaking from the beat of the music Lula insisted on hearing as loud as possible.

I didn't mind. In fact, I didn't really realize, because I was still occupied with Ranger.

I just couldn't figure this man out and truth be told, that bugged me a whole lot.

What did he want from me? Why did he keep playing this hot and cold with me?

He knew I was still with Joe. Hell, the whole Burg discussed our former plans of marriage, everybody knew about that.

Was I just a conquest? An experiment if he could get me away from the hottest cop in Trenton without really trying to?

I felt an unsatisfied sigh coming up my throat. Although he was damn hot, sometimes he could be such a jerk.

_I love you…in my own ways._

Only one of his stupid actions.

Lula brought me back to earth, when she cut the engine and jumped out of the car, excited like a little kid on Christmas.

I followed her into a large building and soon entered a huge hallway with a small corner for the secretary, who was currently completely lost in her important task to do her nails. I was about to clear my throat politely to get her attention, as Lula beat me to it. Slamming her fleshy hands on the desk of the young blonde, she leaned forward some inches till she was nearly nose to nose with the shocked girl.

"Yo, girl, get back to earth and tell us if Dickie is in there!" she barked, startling the other girl.

Pushing her long hair behind her shoulder and quickly fixing her composure, she looked Lula up and down condescendingly before answering, "What could you possibly want from such an important and respectable man like Dickie?"

I watched in awe for a second as the obvious signs of losing control took place in Lula's posture and I quickly decided it was time to cut in.

"I believe it is your job to take care of the clients, not to offend them."

She looked slightly uneasy at me, while Lula smirked and opened her mouth to say something.

"My name is Stephanie Plum and this is my friend Lula. Now, would you please tell us if Dickie could welcome us at the moment?" I asked in a rush, silencing Lula once again.

The young girl I didn't recognize from former encounters sighed deeply and looked back at her nails. Obviously did Dickie change his secretaries as often as his underwear…ew, bad comparison. Worse memories. Worst facts of my ex-husband's wonts…double ew!

"I'm sorry, Miss Plum, but Mr Orr is not in his office."

I gazed at her questioningly, which she preferred to ignore and instead looked at a small mirror in her hands.

"Bullshit! He just chickened out merely because a little bird told him that we were on our way to visit his sorry ass! And now he lets you excuse him!" Lula reasoned and simply pushed open the door to Dickie's office, without paying any attention to the disgruntled nagging of the secretary.

I spared the excusatory gaze towards her and watched Lula expectantly as she already came back into the lobby a few moments later.

"He's actually not here," she stated a little stunned but rather disappointed.

Frowning I entered the office myself, ignoring the triumphant look on the secretary's face.

Indeed, the office was empty. No Dickie.

That was kind of unusual for my extremely ambitious ex-husband. He was a very skillful and successful lawyer who earned a lot of money and had gained much respect in Trenton. Although his qualities as a husband lacked quite a lot…But this was another story.

I stepped back into the lobby and turned to the young girl. "Has he been in here today?"

She shook her pretty head and appeared to be concerned, but it rather looked like she was pouting. Suddenly I felt very sick…

"No, actually I haven't seen him for three days."

I was a little bit confused and pondered about letting my ears get checked at the doctor's, but her (still) pouting face told me she really did say that.

"Yo girl, and why are ya at work then? Wouldn't get my ass anywhere near here if I were you," Lula announced.

She shrugged her shoulders and occupied herself with her well-manicured fingers. I asked her some other questions about Dickie, if he had mentioned something about taking vacation, about his work and business partners, but she couldn't really tell me something interesting.

Just when she murmured something about suddenly behaving strange in the past weeks, I got curious.

"Well, Dickie is hard to intimidate. He is an excellent lawyer with a high reputation and he is very self-confident." She smiled dreamily at the ceiling and I heard Lula cough. I felt sick again. "But for several weeks now he seems to be a little tense, absent-minded, almost afraid."

Lula and I exchanged a look. Her groupie behaviour taken aside, it was kind of true what she said. Dickie wasn't one to be cowed that easily.

I gave her my business card before Lula and I headed towards the exit. Just as Lula pushed the door open, the girl shouted, "Wait! You didn't tell me who you are!"

Lula walked straight ahead while I myself settled on rolling my eyes. Dickie surely should employ girls with an IQ bigger than her boobs and a mouth which wasn't there to pout or to give details away to strangers just like that.

"Tell Dickie his ex-wife said hi."

I watched as she broke one nail by attempting to do something on her computer – which obviously was not a mockup – when her eyes followed me in complete shock. Moments later she whined dramatically about her finger.

When we left the building, a black and certainly very expansive Porsche was parked behind Lula's Firebird and Ranger was leaning relaxed against the side of his car. His eyes were fixated on me and I heard Lula gasping for air. I stepped in front of him and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"Good you're here. I wanted to ask you if the street talks about Dickie Orr."

He pushed himself off of the vehicle and closed the distance between us. I could nearly feel the warmth radiating from his body and tried to focus on his eyes instead of his mouth. I guess I wasn't really successful when he raised an amused eyebrow.

"The street does not talk about him, Babe." He touched my cheek with the back of his hand and a loud _clonk_ was heard somewhere behind me as Lula passed out. I wanted to see if she was okay, but Ranger cupped my chin and gently forced me to keep looking into his eyes.

I held his gaze for a few tense seconds, before I couldn't take it anymore. Either I would kiss him right here and now, or I would back away from him and come up with something eloquently to say – either way, I had to do something, quickly.

A picture of Joe flashed through my mind and I almost winced at the feeling of guilt that washed over me once again. I smiled nervously and took a step back.

His hand fell to his side as his face went blank. "I want to make you an offer."

Not what I would have said, but very effective, too.

I was stunned for a moment, before suspicion rose inside of me. His eyes twinkled amused.

"Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the both of us." The merriment vanished from his face as he grabbed me by my hips in one smooth movement and pressed my body hard against his. "But I wouldn't complain if it turned out to be that way."

His lips brushed my ear and I shivered involuntarily. Morelli was suddenly forgotten and just Ranger, his hot body and my undeniable need for him were important. A squeal beside me made me jump one foot backwards and broke the spell. I looked down and saw that Lula had passed out again.

Frowning I turned to Ranger. "What do you want?"

His eyes darkened for a brief second and my breath caught in my throat.

"I want you to rethink my offer of being a steady employee at RangeMan. You could work the times you did a few weeks ago and you could live in one of the apartments of the building."

I was astonished that Ranger obviously truly wanted me to be a member of his company after all the disasters my life seemed to provoke. On the other hand, he wasn't completely innocent on some of said disasters.

"I'll consider it," I assured him as I gazed annoyingly at the awakening form of Lula.

"Babe." Ranger kissed me lightly on the lips and was gone. I watched him go and couldn't help but drool a bit. Batman, man of the mystery. Off to new adventures and hidden truths, finding lost treasures and fighting the evil with fearless companions at his side… Well, I obviously had seen _Indiana Jones_ way too often.

I hummed the opening theme as Lula and I climbed back into the Firebird. Lula took a deep breath and started to talk... Frankly, I had no idea what she was talking about at all, because I was pretty busy trying to keep Ranger's hot body out of my thoughts and to focus on my ex-husband. In all honesty, Dickie wasn't nearly as interesting as Ranger was…I wondered if Ranger would let me stay in his apartment if I asked and began to drool again. But those really tempting ideas were cruelly pushed out of my head when a sexy smiling Morelli invaded my mind.

I sighed theatrically but was saved from more guilt attacks when Lula _coincidentally_ spotted a McDonald's.


	3. Author's Note

Author's note deleted.


	4. A breakin and a breakup

Disclaimer: I don't own the Stephanie Plum series or its characters. I don't earn any money with this story, and the plot is completely fictitious! Oh, and I don't own Ghostbusters either.

Author's Note: I still haven't read Lean Mean Thirteen, so any similarities between the book and this story are completely coincidental.

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**Chapter 3 **

**A break-in and a break-up**

Dickie's house was one of the exclusive ones in the Burg. With a nice yard, a nice garage, some nice neighbors – everything just really nice and expensive. Like his house.

We strolled along the driveway and I pushed the monstrous bell button.

Although I had been here before, I still somehow felt out of place.

We waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened.

Lula bit her lower lip. I knew exactly what she was thinking about. I did the same.

"Joe is going to kill me!"

Lula waved it off. "Nah, as soon as you put on that little black dress of yours, he's gonna forgive ya everything."

I looked at her.

She had no idea.

Cops could be very trying. Especially this one.

Joe Morelli and my past were inseparably linked with each other, which however didn't mean that our relationship was easy. Basically, you couldn't even call our 'off-again, on again' game a real relationship…

He wanted me to quit my job for him and I wanted to keep my job. This was part of the reason we argued more recently and found ourselves in the 'off-again' stage more than in the 'on-again' one.

At the moment we were back together again, but I didn't know how this was supposed to continue. I mean, sure, Morelli loved me but that wasn't enough. And to be honest, I wasn't sure of my feelings for him anymore, because on the one hand I was still kind of attached to him, but on the other hand there was Ranger… Granted, I still had the feeling of guilt wash over me after every encounter with Ranger and every time I happened to think of Batman, but that guilt was rather related to the thought of lying to Morelli, and in a way playing him.

"Okay, but you keep watch. And don't you dare let me down again!"

Lula tried to look innocent and failed miserably.

We passed the garden gate at the end of the front yard and entered the garden in the back of the house. Lula stepped more or less inconspicuously next to one of the windows and pulled out her gun. In a fluid motion she knocked a huge hole into the glass.

While Lula took position at the garden door, I reached through the hole to unlock and open the door to the terrace.

Then I slipped quickly into the house.

It looked equally swanky from the inside with all those expensive pictures and designer furniture. The only thing that seemed kind of displaced was a swift breeze of an unfathomable malodor which seemed to cloak the air.

But that wasn't the focus of my concern now.

If I ever knew anything about my ex-husband, it was that he didn't like to hide important things in cookie jars, instead he preferred the old-fashioned method of stashing them away somewhere in his study. Thus, I immediately made my way upstairs to search there for interesting indices, but to my chagrin couldn't find any.

When I had rummaged half of the room, Lula entered.

"Hey ya, already found something?"

"Lula, what did I tell you? You're supposed to be outside and keep watch!"

She shrugged. "Yeah, true, but that's so god damn boring. I want to have some action!"

I remained silent and together we searched through the next rooms on the same floor. But still nothing.

Disappointed, we trudged back down to the first floor, when I again smelled something foul. Following my nose, I went to the kitchen. And indeed, the foul stench only intensified.

Lula scrunched up her nose. "Girl, I don't think I like this."

My mind seconded that but the curiosity outweighed the sanity.

I opened the door and a bestial stink embraced us, causing us both to hold our noses.

"Damn," I could hear Lula curse quietly.

I peeked a brief glance into the seemingly not often used kitchen, but couldn't find anything unusual. I turned back to Lula and was about to tell her that no dead bodies were hidden in the room, when my gaze drifted over the kitchen table and a piercing scream escaped my lungs.

Lula cringed and reached for her gun clumsily, while I stared completely shell-shocked at the dead rabbit, lying lifelessly on the table and being pinned to it by a blood-dripping knife.

I quickly called the police and reported the odd occurrence at Dickie's house, before I put my head between my legs, all the while taking deep breaths. It was kind of ironic, I couldn't help but think, that the rabbit had to be lying on the kitchen table that destroyed my marriage.

When I opened my eyes again, Lula was gone.

Figures.

Running out of the room and jumping out onto the street, the grey fumes blew into my face as Lula's Firebird roared to life and hightailed out of my sight.

Frustrated, I let loose several nasty strings of Italian curses before resignedly sitting down on the road curb. Now it was too late for me to flee.

Ten minutes later a police car halted in front of me and Carl Constanza and his partner Big Dog greeted me with similar grins.

"Why am I not surprised that it was you who called to report the discovery of a skewered rabbit on a kitchen table?" Carl asked and the smile on his face seemed to stretch a little wider.

"Yeah, it's been really boring lately. No exploded cars, no exploded Cluck-in-a-Bucket…"

I shot Big Dog my best Burg glare, which didn't do much to impress him.

Damn.

Putting all jokes aside, Carl broke the door open and asked me to show them the way to the dead rabbit. The two of them could barely conceal their disgust and soon after stepped out onto the street again.

Carl shook his head and looked at me through narrowed eyes.

"So, tell me again, Stephanie, how exactly did you get into the house?"

I tried my best at a poker face. I had to buy some time.

"Dickie's my ex-husband. We're still keeping in touch." Avoiding each other like the plague was more like it. "And so he gave me his spare key in case he lost his."

Carl was grinning again. "Nice lie there, but everybody in this town knows that you would have liked nothing more than to send him to hell after one day of marriage."

Yes, and Joyce Barnhardt would have come right after.

His grin turned kind of pained. "Tell me you didn't break in."

"I didn't break in."

"Dammit, Stephanie! How many times do I have to tell you that it's illegal to break into other people's properties?!" Carl cursed and gazed disparagingly at me. "You do know that Morelli isn't going to like any of this, don't you?"

I shifted a little. "He doesn't have to find out."

Carl snorted. "Believe me, he will find out. The police station is the network of tattletales."

As if I didn't know that already. But one could still hope, right?

Big Dog told me to wait, so he could ask me a few more questions, before he and Carl went back to their car and picked up their radio to make a brief report to the police station on the situation at Dickie's house.

I stood there more or less patiently for another few minutes until suddenly a black SUV screeched to a halt a few feet down the road and a furious Morelli jumped out.

Uh-oh.

He stalked over to me and grabbed my arm roughly in order to stop me from moving backwards.

"What the hell is going on here? There I was on my way to an important informant to talk about our actual case, when I hear on my radio that my girlfriend has broken into her ex-husband's house and found a skewered rabbit on his table!"

"Kitchen table," I smartly pointed out.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" he yelled.

I actually flinched in surprise and put my hands on my hips. "There's no reason for you to yell at me like that."

He threw his hands into the air in apparent frustration. "Why me? Why can't God gift me with a girlfriend who I don't have to be constantly worried about?!"

Now I've had enough. "Well, if you crave a obedient housewife this much, why don't you just break up with me and search for one!" I yelled back at him. From the corner of my eyes I could see Carl and Big Dog watching us with worried frowns on their faces; however they didn't dare approach us either.

Morelli's eyes sparkled dangerously. "Well, maybe I'll do that. It would spare me a lot of troubles at the very least. You've violated so many laws in the last years it wouldn't even surprise me if it was the last straw and they send you to prison!"

I took a couple of deep, calming breaths and counted mentally to ten.

"Are you having a bad day?" I asked forcibly composed.

He didn't move a muscle. "What's with you and Ranger?"

Okay, now I was confused. "Huh?"

„Don't act innocent!" he all of a sudden was yelling again. "Do you honestly think I don't know what's between the two of you?! Do you think I'm that stupid? There's constantly one of his goons protecting you! Every time something happens he gives you a new, shiny, oh so expensive car! And you wok together on every damn FTA!"

Well, this was certainly unexpected.

"I'm driving a Buick, in case you're blind!" I exclaimed, all previous calmness forgotten. "And there's nobody protecting me now, is there? Or do you honestly I'd still be here?" I was shocked as unbidden tears gathered in my eyes.

He saw it as well and seemed to calm down considerably. His own eyes widened and he moved to stroke my face. "Shit, Cupcake…"

I shook my head vehemently and drew back. "All we ever do is fight…"

"Cupcake-"

"… And you have no right to say all those things. Ranger has always been there for me. He's one of the most important persons in my life and I don't see why I should give him up just because of your jealousy."

His eyes hardened. "So that's how it is, isn't it? You pick him over me."

My breath hitched in my throat. "I wasn't aware I had to make a choice," I replied carefully.

He gazed steadily at me. "Now you do."

I couldn't believe it. Was he giving me an ultimatum? "Don't do this, Joe! Don't make me choose between the two of you!"

He laughed humourlessly. "If it's so difficult for you, then you've already made your choice," he coldly said and turned on his heels. Just like that.

A tear leaked out of my eye and I angrily wiped it away. Squaring my shoulders, I took off down the road. I could hear someone call my name, but didn't pause in my step.

Okay, I did tell him to search for a new girlfriend, but I didn't really mean it. I only wanted him to stop bashing me. But apparently I couldn't do anything right in his eyes apart from maybe sex. Sometimes I asked myself, how we could ever become a couple at all.

Not that I had to wonder about this anymore, since this 'off-again' status seemed to be pretty permanent.

0000000000

Two hours later I turned the corner to Vinnie's office and during that time frustration had turned into anger. Why did Lula have to strand me there?

Ranger stood next to the bond's office with Jeanne Ellen Burrows closely at his side. Both of them interrupted their obviously intensive conversation and looked at me. I could feel Ranger's piercing gaze clinging to me like glue, but didn't give him the satisfaction of making eye-contact with him. He could go back to making eye-contact with Jeanne Ellen for all I cared.

I stormed past them and ripped the office door open.

"Lula!"

Somebody gulped loudly.

Marching over to where she sat, I noticed the paler hue on her face.

"You promised me not to leave me behind, again!" I accused.

Helplessly, she shrugged with one shoulder. "Yeah, well, but then you called the cops and I thought they're gonna shake me down like a sardine…"

"So you thought you'd better leave me there?" I crossly said.

Lula shifted her weight a little uneasily. "No, 'course not… Dammit, why're you all huffy? Everything worked out, didn't it? You don't look to me like you're going to stir," she defensively replied.

"Not yet," I muttered under my breath.

"You didn't get into trouble, did you?" Connie piped in for the first time, shooting Lula a disapproving glare.

"Morelli broke up with me."

Lula and Connie's eyes nearly bugged out.

"WHAT?! Why the hell would he do that?!" Connie indignantly exclaimed.

I smiled cynically at Lula. "Not even the little black dress is going to fix this."

I wasn't sure I even wanted to get things fixed up between Morelli and me. His words hurt me and our constant quarrels had been getting to me as well. I was just fed up. I couldn't stand anymore of Morelli's little mind games, and to constantly ask myself if Ranger would actually establish a relationship with me, and most of all I was fed up that the two men in my life could do whatever they wanted and with whoever they wanted, whilst I obviously was good enough for staying at home and act like the perfect housewife! Okay, maybe mostly Morelli thought that. What Ranger's thoughts were, only Ranger himself knew.

"But why?" Lula sputtered. „C'mon, girl, it's not the first time you broke into a house."

Connie wordlessly handed me a donut. Obviously Lula had told her beforehand what happened at Dickie's house.

Angry tears welled up in my eyes. My life seemed to seriously go down the drain.

I shrugged and took the second donut from Connie's hand. She didn't even seem to realise as she was busy tapping her chin with her forefinger.

"At least Dickie is going to get what he deserves. I tell you, the kitchen table is a bad omen for him. And Morelli's going to get it too. You'll see."

The thought of Dickie's kitchen table bringing him bad luck made me grin.

As I left I was feeling infinitely better. I probably should be glad that it was permanently over between Morelli and me. Obviously there had been no future for our relationship since neither he nor I seemed capable of talking about our feelings.

Sighing, I grabbed my purse to fish out my car keys, when I saw somebody leaning against the Buick.

It was Ranger. His whole posture screamed casualty with his arms crossed and his shoulders relaxed, but his eyes gave him away. They were trained on me with an intensity I didn't feel like dealing with now.

I grabbed the car keys and ambled over to the driver's side, where Ranger was standing.

Expectantly I looked at him.

"Babe?" His voice appeared softer than usual.

I tried a smile for his sake, but suspected it came out more like a grimace. Sighing again, I gave up the pretence.

"Could you please step aside? I don't want to have to walk again."

Questioningly he raised an eyebrow, but I just shook my head dismissively.

Suddenly he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pulled me forward, causing me to stumble awkwardly, and pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. Dumbfounded, I stilled upon the contact. For one absurd moment I wondered, if maybe Jeanne Ellen was still around and watching us.

Abruptly, I broke away from him and retreated.

Not caring for his searching gaze, I clutched the car keys a little tighter. "Step aside."

Tense silence surrounded us for a long second, before he pushed himself off of the car and walked away.

My shoulders sagged as I climbed into the Buick and started the engine.

Ranger was no better than Morelli. Confusing and frustrating in his own way.

Back in my apartment I settled on the couch with a pizza from Pino's and watched as _Ghostbusters_ flickered across the TV screen.

The light of my answering machine flashed like crazy, but I decided to ignore it for the time being.

And then my phone rang.

I remained sitting on the couch and a few minutes later the answering machine automatically kicked in.

"_Stephanie Plum! This is your mother! I'e already left three messages and I don't want to have to leave a fifth one! It is now five o'clock and I expect you to arrive for dinner punctually at six…"_

Tiredly, I rubbed both hands over my eyes.

"… _And why in God's name did you break up with Joseph? What did you do now that another man left you? Didn't I raise you better?"_

I winced. Sometimes I hated the grapevine in the Burg.

"_Don't you ever think? This very well may be the last chance to find a husband for you! You'll never be able to give me grandchildren!" _

,Is that all you ever think about?' I wanted to scream, but the lump in my throat prevented me from saying it out loud. It didn't matter anyway.

"_We'll talk about that at dinner."_

Then she hung up.

An hour later I parked the Buick on the opposite street side of my parent's house. Gandma Mazur was already waiting at the door and smiled warmly at me as she led me into the house.

"No matter what she says, I always found the bounty hunter much hotter," she whispered to me as soon as we entered the living room. I looked up and was greeted with a death glare from my mother. Great.

I said a general hello and kissed my father on his stubbly cheek.

As we all took our seats for dinner, Grandma Mazur turned to me with excitement evident in her voice.

"I've heard of the incident with the rabbit. The phone wouldn't stand still the whole day. Anyway, hat happened to your ex-husband, the weeny?"

My mother pursed her lips, but didn't say anything.

"Dickie's disappeared. Vinnie bailed for him und gave me the case."

"And so you broke into Dickie's house and found the rabbit on his kitchen table! Man, what a mess," Grandma Mazur said. "You should've called me."

Definitely not.

Finally, my mother opened her mouth to, undoubtedly, scold me, but was drowned out by my sister's husband.

"Dickie?" Albert Kloughn furrowed his brow.

"Dickie Orr," Valerie helpfully supplied and dabbed at his face with a napkin.

Albert's face lighted up like light bulb.

"Of course! Dickie Orr! The best attorney in Trenton, what am I saying, the whole country! Boy, I wish I was like him. Have you ever seen him at court? He's amazing! So cunning and ice-cold… He takes on the most difficult cases and yet wins each and every one of it. Well, almost at least. He does, doesn't he? He recently even brought some mafia member into prison. By, he's my hero."

Silence.

Everyone was gauging my reaction – except Albert.

Valerie kicked him under the table, making him yowl painfully.

"Honey-pie, what was that for… oh!"

He looked gloomily at me. "I'm sorry, Stephanie… Of course he's an idiot. A loser, yes, that's what he is. No wonder with those guys he's always hanging around…"

I pricked my ears and cut in Kloughn's flood of words.

"What guys?"

Kloughn blinked. „Well, I saw him a few times at the laundrette with a tall, haggard blond guy and a small bald one. They looked pretty young though…"

The descriptions weren't very helpful.

"Do you know their names?"

Albert scratched his neck. "No idea. I'd never seen them before. I only saw them regularly with Cickie Orr…"

The laundrette? Why would they meet each other in a laundrette? Or was it just a coincidence? If those two guys were young, it appeared understandable that they would wash their clothes in a laundrette.

I shook my head free of those thoughts. I was probably reading too much into it anyway.

The doorbell chimed.

It seemed that everybody thought the same of who the visiter could be.

My mother smiled for the first time this evening and Grandma Mazur rifled through her purse, before walking to the door, revolver in hand.

"No! Grandma Mazur!"

My mother hastily stood and rushed after.

"Let her be," my father all of a sudden spoke up and I turned to him in surprise. Usually, he was the one who scolded Grandma Mazur for her crazy actions. "That Morelli has been upsetting you for years. Nobody hurts one of my girls."

And with those words he put his fork and knife down on the table and followed after Grandma Mazur to the door.

Voices wafted over to Vaerlie, Kloughn and me, but we couldn't understand what was said. I felt bad for sending my family ahead to deal with my, well, ex-boyfriend, but was gladall the same not to have to face Morelli.

Valerie put a hand on my shoulder in apparent concern.

"Maybe it'd be better if you left. This will probably soon break out into a huge fight because of Morelli and you and I don't think you'll want to witness that."

The corners of my mouth lifted themselves weakly into a strained smile. I hugged her tightly in farewell.

"I think it's better that you're separated. He isn't good enough for you; he never was."

I was astonished that my sister had worried about me and that she advised me not to patch things up with Morelli.

I left through the backdoor and walked around the house to the front. Crossing the street to the Buick, I could see Morelli passionately debating with Grandma Mazur – by now he had taken the revolver from her – while my father stood unmoveable like a rock behind her, an unrelenting expression on his face.

My mother was nowhere to be seen.

Morelli seemed agitated and every few moments he would run a hand through his dishevelled hair. I felt a twinge of regret about how things now stood between us, but I couldn't find in me any regret _that_ it ended.

I waved goodbye to my father and Grandma Mazur, and quickly hopped into the Buick, before Morelli could reach me.

I was just running across the parking lot in front of my apartment building, when Morelli caught my wrist and spun me around to him.

"Stephanie, we have to talk…" Morelli began.

I tried to yank my hand free, but his grip wouldn't loosen.

"I don't want to talk with you! I've had enough of you!"

His grip tightened in response. "What do you have enough of?"

I only yanked harder.

"Talk to me, Stephanie!" He almost sounded desperate.

"Let go of me, Joe! I don't want to talk to you right now. Just leave me alone."

Morelli clenched his jaw and released my wrist. Without sparing him a glance, I whirled around and headed inside the building. Back in my apartment, I grabbed a beer and lay down on the couch.

0000000000

It was still dark when I woke up. There was a prickling sensation tingling down my spine that told me that I wasn't alone though.

I used my hands to silently estimate my situation. As far as I could tell, I was still on the couch, but a blanket had been draped over me.

My heart beat wildly as I carefully sat up and stilled immediately as I felt another body move behind me. Soft lips touched my neck and made me shiver, until a strong hand started to gently stroke my shoulders.

"What are you doing here, Ranger?" I asked a little breathless.

He tugged my shirt down a few inches and kissed my exposed shoulder blade.

"Visiting you," was all he said, and wrapped an arm around my waist to haul me into his lap.

"Why?" I asked, gasping as his breath tingled my ear.

All of a sudden I felt secure in his embrace and rested the back of my head on his shoulder. It was a pleasant feeling – especially after my emotionally challenging day.

"I wanted to see you, Babe."

I closed my eyes with a sigh, as his hand disappeared under my shirt and leisurely drew circles on my belly.

"What happened this afternoon?" he asked.

Still enjoying his ministrations, I gave him the short version of my visit at Dickie's office, my search through his house and the finding of the rabbit.

After my voice faded away, we sat still for a while in the darkness. It felt surprisingly comfortable and _nice_ to just be in Ranger's presence – without the guilt of thinking of Morelli.

"What about Morelli?"

I automatically tensed up. I didn't want to have another conversation about my ex-boyfriend, but it seemed inevitable.

"Nothing," I said, but unfortunately my tone wavered more than I would have liked.

Ranger pressed a small kiss into my hair.

"Should I shoot him?"

His voice rumbled through my back and a slightly hysterical giggle escaped my lips that soon turned into dry sobs. Ranger's arms pulled me closer to him and I could feel his voice rumble through my back as he spoke.

"What happened?" He inquired again.

"He broke up with me on the street. Said he'd go search for a "normal" girlfriend…"

His arms tensed around me. I laid my head into the crook of his neck and mentally reviewed my past with Morelli.

"We've always fought about the same things: my job and you. And I'm sick of it. I'm sick of having an 'on-again, off-again' relationship and I'm sick of him always criticising me. Why should I change who I am?"

Ranger brushed some hair behind my ear. "Morelli loves you. He's afraid to lose you."

I snorted. "His job isn't any more innocuous than mine! But still I don't try to make him quit!"

I could feel him take a deep breath and I was secretly surmised by this show of emotion.

"He doesn't attract disaster like you do. You don't have to constantly fear if some lunatic blew up his car while still sitting in it. And you don't have to go through the day knowing he's chasing criminals without any form of weapon."

Ranger paused and removed his hands from my body. At the same time, he seemed to retreat emotionally as well.

Had Ranger just spoken solely about Morelli or maybe also about himself?

"You thought about working for me again?" he finally changed the subject.

I'd probably sit behind a desk all day again. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering running after lunatics was tiring, and at least Ranger paid me more than well. Morelli would probably fume, but since it didn't matter anymore what he thought, I considered Ranger's offer a bit more seriously than before. Desk work was boring, but I wouldn't have to worry about monthly rent or things getting blown up in my vicinity.

"My men miss the culinary change when you're there," Ranger said with no small amount of amusement in his voice.

Oh, how nice.

"And they miss having you around," he added.

I turned my head and for the first time cursed the darkness that still surrounded us.

"What about you? Do you miss having me around as well?" I asked and silently hoped that he for once wouldn't evade my question.

But of course he did.

His whole body tensed up and I could practically feel him build up all those emotional barriers around him.

Normally, now would have been the time where I change the topic and give him a getaway. But not this time. I needed answers, not playful innuendoes or quick excuses. Just the truth.

A few minutes passed by and still he didn't say anything, when suddenly his pager beeped. Shortly hesitating, he eventually took it out and read the display.

Gently, he grabbed my hips and positioned me next to him on the couch before rising himself.

"I have to go, Babe." His lips touched mine sensually.

"Think about the job," he said and I heard him move farther away. "I'm sure Morelli and you will work things out again."

I heard the front door shut closed behind him and felt more terrible than ever before.

Was I some toy for the two men in my life? To play with and cast aside whenever they wanted? Did they even feel anything for me?

I didn't know.

I knew nothing anymore except that I desperately needed a carload full of donuts.


	5. Just one of those days

Disclaimer: I don't own the Stephanie Plum series or its characters. I don't earn any money with this story, and the plot is completely fictitious!

Author's Note: I'm actually quite satisfied with this chapter, now; all thanks to my beta for doing a fantastic job on it! Thank you so much!! And I'm really sorry for not posting this chapter sooner.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Just one of those days**

I awoke around noon the next day to an unexpected guest standing on the other side of my door.

Seeing my squinted eyes, Carl Constanza lifted a brown bag and swayed it in front of my face.

"Morning, Steph! I brought breakfast!"

My gaze swept over the rather big looking bag, before I let him in. I left him for a few minutes to change into a pair of jeans and a simple white tee-shirt and joined him in the kitchen.

The hot cup of coffee between my hands felt good and the apple fritter I was eating made me feel even better, but still I could not shake off all my morning grumpiness and wondered why Carl had come over this early in the day. One look at the clock told me that he probably was using his lunch break to come here.

"You look like shit," he blurted out after a while. I gave him the evil eye in response. "I didn't mean it like that… did you have a rough night?"

"I'm fine," I said and grabbed another fritter.

"Really?" he doubtfully inquired, the hand that was holding the cup pausing halfway to his mouth.

I chose not to answer.

"Morelli doesn't look any better, you know," he said, watching my reaction carefully. "He was beside himself after your fight yesterday and today he was hangover when he came to work. It didn't look like he'd got much sleep last night either. The whole time he was mumbling something about _she cried_ or something… What's going on with you two?"

I shrugged. „What are you asking me? It's him who wants a new and normal _girlfriend_," my voice sounded bitter and I didn't like it. It wasn't like me to go all emotional. Inwardly sighing, I grabbed another pastry.

Carl choked on his coffee and shot me an in incredulous look. "He wants what?! He told you that?!"

I nodded mutely.

"Damn…" Lost in thought, he ran a hand through his hair and turned serious eyes to me. "You don't believe that, right? Morelli hasn't exactly been known for taking his relationships serious in the past, but since you and him have been dancing around each other he hasn't even looked at another woman."

Well, if that wasn't a tad bit exaggerated. "I try not to think about it anymore actually. And I have a mission for the day."

Carl took another sip from his coffee and I could see his lips quivering. He was obviously torn between being amused and being annoyed at my return to denial-land. "And what kind of mission would that be?" he indulged me, and the curiosity by far outweighed the humour in his voice.

"I'm going to find my ex-husband and kick his ass."

Carl blinked once, twice, before he slapped his leg and laughed wholeheartedly. "That is a good plan," he conceded, still chuckling now and then. "By the way, I never knew that Dickie was fond of pets."

"Me either," I said, staring thoughtfully at Rex. "Now that you mention it, while Lula and I searched his house, we didn't find any pet stuff; no food, no cage, nothing."

"Mmh." Carl stood up and put his empty cup and plate in the sink. "Seems like somebody broke in and brought the rabbit with them."

I wrinkled my nose. "Only to kill it there? That's disgusting. Why would anybody do that?"

Carl shrugged. "No idea. The guys from the forensic unit are still going through the house. Maybe they'll find something." He scratched his ear. "Unfortunately, that's not the worst we've going on here at the moment."

"Why? What's going on?"

He clenched his jaw for a moment as if deciding how much more he could tell me. "Our contacts are nervous. Something's brewing, but nobody's talking. And now with Orr's abrupt flight…" He shrugged again, this time a little half-hearted. "We don't know if it has anything to do with Orr, but just in case… do me a favour and be careful, all right?"

"All right," I automatically assured, though we both knew very well that it was literally impossible for me not to stumble over any kind of trouble.

He took a look at his watch and swore. "I've got to go. Big Dog and I have a date with a few druggies at the train station."

I followed him to the door and thanked him for breakfast.

"No problem," he grinned. "Take care, all right? And don't worry about Morelli. The guy wants to marry you; he sure as hell isn't going to let you go. I'll call you if there's any news on your ex-husband. Don't kick his ass too hard!"

He gave me a quick hug and left.

0000000000

It was late in the afternoon when I entered Vinnie's Bonds office. Lula and Connie both looked up from the files in front of them.

"Hey, Steph!" Connie greeted, twirling a lock of black hair around her finger. "I wasn't sure you'd come in today, but I'm glad you did."

"Yo girl!" Lula said. "Be lucky that you didn't come in earlier. The Horse has another stick up his ass."

I waited for Vinnie's door to open, but nothing happened.

"I took care of his latest bugs." Connie leaned forward on her desk. "Vinnie is so pissed he hasn't even noticed. He came out at noon, yelling why you haven't checked in and when you finally catch Orr."

Lula snorted. "I bet he's not getting any and now he's gonna pick on Steph, the horny ass."

Connie shrugged, but a small smile curled the corners of her mouth. "Wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Rumour has it that Joyce is getting tight with Sebring." Lula gave a bark of laughter and slapped her fleshy thigh. Connie's smile widened as she rummaged through some files and handed one to me. "Your grandmother stopped by earlier this morning and he's been on edge every since. She said to tell you to call her." She gestured to the file in my hand. "Look at this FTA. Ranger wanted you to have him. Vinnie will pop a vessel if you don't get him in at the end of the day."

"What did my grandmother want?" I asked, looking at a twenty-two year old Benny Fraud, who was charged for bank robbery.

"No idea," Connie said. "She looked pretty excited, though. Said she was looking for you, but then barged into Vinnie's office when I told her you weren't there."

I fished out my cell phone and turned it on. I had four missed calls from Morelli from last night, one from Ranger and two from Grandma Mazur. "Did you hear what they were talking about?"

Connie's smile looked a little devious. "No, but it must have been good for Vinnie to look like he was going to murder her on the spot."

I quelled my curiosity and decided to make a stop at my parents' house later in the day. I took another look at Benny and decided that he looked rather harmless. And I needed the money.

"Connie, can you look up the gun shop on Middleton Street and dig out some information about the staff for me? I've been asking Dickie's neighbours questions all afternoon and Annie Grodge told me that two guys came to his house a few days ago in the middle of the night. She thinks she's seen the smaller one working at the shop."

Connie nodded and switched on her computer. "Anything else I need to know?"

"I don't think so." I shook my head and turned to Lula. "Are you up for chasing FTAs?"

"Hell yeah!" Lula yelled, jumped off her stool and grabbed her purse. "Anything beats sitting here with all those boring files. A woman needs some action in her life!"

Friggin' A.

0000000000

Then again, I could really do without getting certain action.

"Well, that was fun," Lula said, a wide amused smile on her face, her eyes regarding the tomato sauce on my T-shirt.

Ignoring her, I slowly sat up, using my dirty hands to check my entire body for any injuries.

Other than my pride everything seemed to be intact. Sighing in frustration, I finally stood and sent Benny my best death glare, well, I at least hoped it was recognisable as a death glare.

"Aww, c'mon, girlfriend, don't be mad." Lula cooed, her stupid grin still firmly in place. "I mean, you have to be used to this kind of thing by now, aren't ya?"

Rolling my eyes in exasperation, I not too gently grabbed Benny by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. He too was smiling inanely and I was seriously tempted to let my foot slip to places where the sun don't shine.

"Just get in the car, Lula, and drive to the station," I said, escorting Benny to the familiar red firebird which was parked only a few feet away from the bank he previously tried to rob.

"Hey!" Lula suddenly yelled. "Take care of the seats. Can't have stains on them, right?"

With as much dignity as I could muster I placed Benny in the back seat with me and was relieved when Lula started the car, the blasting hip-hop droning out of the boxes announcing our presence miles away.

"You know," Benny suddenly screamed against the loud music, "I think I'm getting hungry." And his twinkling blue eyes landed on my lunch which happened to be spread all over my body.

My left eye began to twitch uncontrollably. After all it would have been my first real food after my decision to make a diet. And now it was wasted because the kid thought it would be good to distract me by grabbing my pizza and throwing it directly at me.

Suddenly there was a vibration in my purse and I instinctively rummaged through it in search of my cell phone. Reading the display, I let out a groan of disbelief: My mother was calling.

Unable to deal with her just yet, I put my cell phone back into my purse and decidedly ignored it. Turning the music down a notch, Lula looked at me eagerly through the rear-view mirror.

"Batman calling? Boy, I wish I was covered in pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese. Maybe he'd call me then too…" She dreamily mused.

I immediately doused her fantasy. "It's my mother."

"Ohhh!" Lula exclaimed as she began to laugh shamelessly at my expense.

I had known I should have stayed in bed this morning.

"It's not very nice to purposely not answer the phone when your mother is calling," Benny cheekily pointed out, a strict expression on his juvenile face.

I eyed him warily. "You don't know my mother," I said, automatically. It was true, my mother could be difficult – especially when she learned today's escapade – but I respected and loved her nonetheless. Sometimes I just wasn't ready to talk to her…

Benny shrugged. "Family is family, you know. Nothing's more important than that. You should be lucky you have one, one that cares about you." A forlorn expression overshadowed his features, darkening his whole face at a fast pace. It was odd to see this young man being serious all at once.

"Tzk," Lula interjected, clicking her tongue in disagreement. "This whole talk about blood being thicker than water is a load of shit."

My gaze wandered thoughtfully over her sour face. It suddenly occurred to me that I knew nothing of her family, brothers, sisters, where she spent her holidays, nothing.

Benny's forehead crinkled in confusion, the grease paint that was covering his face creased in his furrowed brow. It was strange seeing a clown who was upset. He looked a little twisted, like a clown from one of those awful horror flicks, with his lips set into a grim line, while there was still a smile painted on his face. "Why did you say that? That was awful!" He looked positively offended and insulted.

"Why did you paint your face like that?" I asked him.

Benny shrugged nonchalantly, but readily dropped the issue. "I didn't want to wear a pair of stockings on my face." He grimaced. "I'm a man. Men don't wear tights. That's just embarrassing."

"You could have worn a ski mask," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's, you know, _ordinary_. I wanted something cool. I mean, who'd suspect a clown to rob a bank? And nobody would have recognised my face. It would have been really easy to rob this bank if you hadn't come along."

Lula laughed. "Steph's always got luck like that. We just came from Pino's when we saw you get out of your car."

Benny scowled. "How did you recognise me anyway?"

"Steph recognised your car from the file about you. You're no smarty-pants, are ya?"

Benny struggled with his handcuffs – no doubt to flip Lula off – when an arrogant grin flitted across his face.

"You won't actually turn me in, will you?" he confidently said. "I'm hot and smart. I could show you some tricks if you know what I mean." He winked at me with his red-painted eye.

Lula started cracking up in the front and I took out my stun-gun.

"Another comment from you and I'll stun you, understood?"

His face fell. „Damn." He seemed a bit desperate when he looked up again. "But there'll be a TV in my cell, right?"

0000000000

Lula actually hung around at the police station, while I was taking care of the paper work, for the sake of seeing Benny getting escorted to his cell. She was obviously feeling smug when she drove us back to the bond's office afterwards.

Connie sighed in relief when I handed her the body receipt for Benny Fraud. "That was quick. I thought you'd need more time for him." Her teeth blinked when she smiled. "Well, one thing down for Vinnie to bitch about, not that it will stop him…"

Lula fell down heavily on her chair and ignored the pile of files in front of her. "He was a dumb kid, that Benny fella. Painted his face like a clown and thought it'd save him from being caught. Ha!"

Connie raised an eyebrow at me before noticing the stains on my T-shirt. "Sounds like an interesting story, huh?"

I snorted. "Don't ask."

Connie took the hint and busied herself with the open file on her computer screen. "I've been searching the data bank for the staff of the gun shop you asked about and I found one guy who could fit your description." She turned the screen so I could have a look at the information displayed. "Gregory Fiscelli. Half-Italian, half-American. He's been caught for several minor offences, nothing major. His parents were shot three years ago. One older sister, no brothers. He lives not far from the shop on Whatchamacallit street."

She printed the file out and handed it to me. "The people in his neighbourhood are not afraid to shoot first and ask questions later. You'll be careful, all right?"

I eased the Buick to a stop in front of Gregory's house. There was a car in the driveway and I figured he was home. As I crossed the street a black truck parked a couple houses down the street caught my eye. Its windows were tinted black and it seemed to stand out among the other fairly run-down cars lining the street.

The ringing of my cell phone disrupted my thoughts about the truck.

"Hello?"

"Did you have trouble with Fraud, Babe?" Ranger asked in a slightly humoured voice. Obviously I'd made his day again with another one of my unorthodox captures.

"No more than usual," I said and couldn't help the sliver of frustration that rang in my voice.

"Thought about my offer yet, Babe? It'd be a lot safer."

Yeah, and the payment also would be a lot better and more importantly _steady_; but the job would be boring as hell. And speaking of safe; now there were two SUVs coming up and stopping several house down the street behind me. I didn't know why but a shiver of warning swept down my spine.

"Babe?" Ranger asked as I failed to answer.

"I've got to go," I hurriedly said. "I'm out chasing a lead on Orr."

"Where are you?"

"In front of Gregory Fiscelli's house." I said while unbuckling my seatbelt.

Ranger's voice became slightly urgent. "Steph, wait. I'll send someone with you. Fiscelli isn't exactly the kind of guy you want to deal with on your own."

I opened the door and stepped out of the Buick. "What's wrong? You're making too much out of it, I'm just going to talk to him. I'll be fine. I even have my gun with me." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that nobody was leaving the SUVs. "Look, Ranger, I got to go. Call you later."

I hung up and turned back to the house. The two-story house looked calm and unthreateningly in broad daylight, but a part of me still couldn't help but wish that I had listened to Ranger. My Spidey Sense was practically shrilling in my ears and as I crossed the street, I put my hand in my purse and wrapped my fingers around the taser. Even though the false sense of safety it gave me didn't really help all that much. After one last look at the SUVs, I rang the doorbell.

Several moments passed until an unshaved man in his late twenties cautiously opened the door, gun in hand. With one eye he seemed to squint suspiciously down at me, while the other was obviously preoccupied with watching the street.

"What do you want?" he grunted, not loosening his grip on the gun.

Feeling a bit wary of the weapon, I thought it better not to mention that I had connections with the law. Instead, I showed him my id. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm the ex-wife of Dickie Orr. I'm looking for the bastard since he still owes me money. I was told you may know where he is."

His gaze snapped fully to me and there was a sudden hostility to his demeanour.

"I don't know who you are talking about," he said. "Leave."

He attempted to shut the door in my face, but I stuck my foot between the door and the frame. "Wait! I really need to find him. Do you have any idea where he could have gone?"

Swearing as he realised that I wouldn't budge, he cocked the gun and pointed at me. Automatically, I began to back up a few steps and he followed me down the pathway.

"I said I don't know any Dickie Orr, _Lady_, and now get your nosy ass out of my way. If I ever see you here again, I'll-"

Suddenly there were gunshots. Both of us froze for what seemed like a long moment, then instinct kicked in. Shielding my head as best as I could with my arms, I sprinted a few feet to the side of the house and threw myself to the ground. I couldn't see where the shots were coming from, but I could see Gregory Fiscelly as he stood unmoving on the lawn and fired off a few rounds, before the numerous bullets ripping through his chest and shoulder forced him down to his knees. There was a stunned look in his eyes as the gun slipped from his fingers and his body slumped face-down onto the grass.

Tires squealed and I watched the two dark blue SUVs speed off into the distance as an eerie silence settled in. My hands shook as I clutched my purse to my body, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Gregory. It seemed like an execution the way all of the gunshots had been aimed at him.

Stumbling to my feet, I gave an involuntary shriek as a hand clamped down on my arm and I was roughly yanked around. The man in front of me said something that I couldn't understand and dragged me back to the street. The black truck was now parked in front of the house and the man pushed me into the back seat.

The man climbed in next to me and I vaguely noted there were three other men in the car. They seemed angry and it was obvious there was a lot of yelling and swearing going on, but my ears were still buzzing a bit and my head was swirling with too many thoughts at once that I wasn't able to concentrate on what was going on around me. I was sweating and all I could think about was the smell of blood that hung faintly in the air.

Suddenly there was a strong hand on my back, pushing my upper body forcefully down between my knees. It was only then that I noticed that my whole body was shaking as I felt how strong and steady the hand was that lay firmly on my trembling body. The buzzing in my ears vanished as well as the urge to vomit and after several moments I was able to sit back up.

The gazes of the other three men were still hostile, but they were silent. The only one looking remotely different was the man sitting next to me, watching me with faint curiosity.

"You okay, Missy?"

I shook his hand off of my back and studied him carefully. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice sounding breathless.

The man grinned. "Are you afraid?"

I thought about it for a moment. To be honest, I didn't feel a whole lot. I was still reeling from the sudden gunfight that just took place. There was no space for any other feeling at the moment.

I met his watchful gaze head-on. "No." Someone snorted.

His eyes glinted amusedly as he laughed. "I like you. What's your name?"

"Stephanie."

He inclined his head slightly. "I'm Ray."

I nodded in response. Ray continued watching me, but soon the amused glint in his eyes faded.

"You're coming with us, Stephanie, and you're not going to ask any questions, understood?" He turned to the man in the driver's seat and nodded. A moment later the truck roared to life and we were headed down the street. I vaguely wondered if they weren't concerned about some neighbours calling the police, but then again looking at this neighbourhood – it didn't seem very likely.

One of the other guys grunted in disgust. "Just what we need…"

Ray ignored him.

"Are you taking me hostage or something like that?" I sighed.

That brought another grin to Ray's face. "Not yet. We need to find out first why you've been snooping around here."

Well, that sounded reasonable. For a criminal, at the very least.

Not for the first time, I wondered who they were and what had just happened when my cell phone rang. Ranger, again.

"Don't answer it," Ray warned me and took the cell phone from my hands. He read the display and the corners of his mouth lifted in a surprised smile.

He shot me a quick inscrutable look and stowed the cell phone into his inner jacket pocket.

"You should start talking, Stephanie," Ray softly advised. "The sooner , the better."

I leaned back into my seat, unable to think of what to say. There was a dull throbbing that seemed to spread from my shoulder to my whole body. I opened my dark windbreaker and groped with my fingers carefully my shoulder. As I retracted my hand there was something sticky coating it.

I had been shot. Unbelievable. That was really just the icing on the cake to a perfectly shitty day…

"Damn," I heard Ray curse, and then everything went dark.


	6. Confusion

Disclaimer: I don't own the Stephanie Plum series or its characters. I don't earn any money with this story, and the plot is completely fictitious!

Author's Note: I can't tell you how sorry I am for my long absence. Really, really sorry. And thanks to my lovely beta Suzanne! Without you, my chapters would be unreadable. :)

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Confusion**

I was disoriented when I woke up. My mind was hazy and a dull throbbing went through the whole length of my body, making it hard to fully concentrate on my surroundings. Sunlight shone into the room through two large windows and illuminated the four walls surrounding me in a deep bronze. There were some cupboards and a closet, with a vanity chair in one corner by the window, but the room itself felt rather detached – no pictures, no TV, no personal trinkets. No hints for me to guess where I was.

I tried to remember what happened and how I got here, but my memories slipped away like fluttering little butterflies every time I tried to grasp them. It almost felt like I was drugged.

"Glad to see you awake, Stephanie" a voice said and my head snapped up to find Ray sitting next to my bed, calmly looking at me while casually pocketing something.

"Where am I?" I rasped, swallowing hard to try and lose the feeling of dry sand filling my lungs.

Ray ignored my question and placed a tray laden with food and a glass of orange juice in my lap. "Eat first," was all he said.

My stomach tightened in response to the delicious smell of scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh toast. As I instinctively tried to sit up, my left arm couldn't support my weight and I fell back into the bed with a curse. Tears sprang to my eyes and my breathing increased as I remembered being shot. I gingerly rubbed the area around the wound to ease the pain.

Ray cursed and hovered over me for a second before grabbing a few more pillows and positioning them behind my back.

I closed my eyes as the pain in my shoulder caused the room around me began to blur. I heard Ray let out a sigh and then felt him grab my right hand and wrap my fingers around a fork.

"You've been out of it for almost two days. Eat," he repeated a little more firmly.

Pushing all questions aside for the moment, I gripped the fork lightly and began to shovel food into my mouth.

Ray's humour returned as he leaned back to watch me.

I gulped down the last bits of toast with the orange juice and pushed the tray off of my full stomach. Ray took it from me and placed it on the nightstand.

"Where am I?" I repeated my question.

Ray gave me a charming smile while ignoring my question. "Welcome to my home, Missy."

"Why am I here?" I asked, wondering if we were still in Trenton.

Ray stared pointedly at my shoulder.

"Right," I said and unconsciously let my fingers trail over the spot. Different scenes of my conversation with Ranger, Fiscelli and the squeals of tires suddenly flashed through my mind and I winced. "What were you doing in front of Fiscelli's house?"

In response, Ray abandoned his slouched position and sat up a bit straighter. There was still a bit of playfulness in his face when his gaze came to a rest on the cell phone in his lap.

"It was a coincidence that we drove by at the time. And a damn lucky coincidence for you, I'd say, Missy."

He lifted his face and smiled calmly at me.

"You're lying," I said. "I saw your car parked down the street. What were you really doing there?"

There was a sudden shift in the way he looked at me. Up until now I had been happily floating around in denial-land and regarded this whole situation as if it was only a distant reality; but the coldly calculating brown eyes that seemed to be entirely focused on weighing my worth swiftly kicked me out of beautiful denial-land with dread. Ray's kindness was deceptive, I reminded myself. He was a stranger who instead of bringing me to a hospital had brought me to his own home for healing.

"You will know," Ray quietly said, "in time. Until then try to keep your nose out of things you don't understand." The subtle threat reminded me that I couldn't trust him.

He got to his feet with a frown and made a grab for the breakfast tray, when he came to a halt halfway and instead fished out the cell phone he had previously amused himself with. A smaller version of his grin stole its way back onto his face. "You've been in high demand while you were out of it," he quipped.

Startled, I studied the device more closely and was surprised to recognise it as my own cell phone.

"Can I have it back?" I asked.

Ray playfully cocked his head to the side. "Maybe." He pocketed the cell phone and took the tray and made his way across the room. "But not yet. I'll send Vince in to check on you. Try not to hurt yourself more," he cheerfully advised and left.

I brought a hand to my forehead and rubbed it with a sigh. I could feel a headache coming.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door and a man slipped into the room. A calm smile settled on his face when he saw me staring back at him.

"Good to see you awake, Stephanie."

Closing the door behind him, he strode over to my side and lifted first the sheets and then my shirt to inspect my wound. Flinching, I tried to protest and to stop his hands from feeling me up, but found that I couldn't really move until he was finished with his inspection.

"The wound's healing well," he informed me with a satisfied smile in my direction after moving away from me and getting a couple of pills out of the cupboard. "You were really lucky that no vital organs were hit. As it stands, you'll be back in full swing in a few weeks, but until then you'll have to be careful with that shoulder. No heavy lifting, no driving, nothing too strenuous to your shoulder. Though you'll have to keep moving your shoulder once in a while to help build up muscle mass again."

I watched as he put the pills on the nightstand and filled a glass with water, before handing me both. Eying the pills warily, I refused to take either.

"What's this?"

Vince's still extended arms didn't waver as he answered.

"These are for the pain in your shoulder. The itchy feeling will get better after you've taken these."

I stilled abruptly as I realized that he must have noticed my restless shifting of my upper body to relieve a bit of the discomfort I was feeling.

"A few days ago I was shot, maybe on purpose. Now I'm here held as a prisoner. Why would I take anything you gave me?"

Vince stared back at me without any kind of emotion on his slightly marred face.

"If we'd shot you, you'd be dead by now," he simply said.

"Maybe you're trying to kill me now," I retorted. "Or to keep me drugged."

His head shifted slightly to the left. "For what purpose? What kind of worth could you have for us? Or do you honestly think we'd try to kill you after making the effort to nurse you back to health? Is that the kind of logic Ranger teaches his protégés?"

My breath caught mid-inhaling.

A slight curl of his lips showed that he was amused by my reaction.

"Did you really think we wouldn't try to get information on you, Stephanie Plum?"

"What do you want from me? Why am I here?" I asked, trying unsuccessfully to back away from Vince.

No longer amused, he put the pills and the glass back on the small table and retreated a few steps.

"Don't make us your enemy, Stephanie Plum. Right now, all we want is a few answers and then you'll be able to leave. No harm done. Try not to change that," he said gently and left. I heard a clicking sound from the door and knew I was locked in. Agitated and confused, I took the medicine.

Pain medication wore me out and for the next couple of days I did nothing more than eat, sleep, and walk a bit around the room. I had searched the entire room and the adjoining bathroom for something to help me escape but there was nothing there, least of all a telephone.

Ray brought me food and drinks three times a day, while Vince continued to take care of my medical condition. At noon of the fifth day since my capture, he announced that the wound was healing well and I no longer needed any medication and that I was fit to join "the others" in the dining room.

Fetching a bathrobe from the bathroom, he silently helped me into it and gentled his movements when he saw me wince whenever my left shoulder was moved. His light blue eyes twinkled as he watched the cotton material flow around my ankles. It was obviously a man's robe.

Placing one hand on my right elbow, he proceeded to steer me out of the room through the second door into a small carpeted hallway.

I fisted two handfuls of the bathrobe to keep from tripping and studied him from the corner of my eye.

His greyish black hair, the piercing blue eyes, his aged face and his almost fatherly behaviour during the last week couldn't hide the fact that there was a combination of controlled strength and cold calculation in him. Ray as well as Vince had been nothing but caring since I had woken up. I felt more like a sick houseguest than a prisoner and yet not once had I been allowed to make a call. The situation was weird and my spidey sense was on full alert. Maybe now I would finally get a few answers.

Vince led me a few steps down a narrow corridor, the creaking and groaning of the wooden floor under our combined weight the only sound between us. The walls on either side were clinically white with no ornaments or paintings to refurbish them. The many lamps hanging from the ceiling, illuminating every speck, only enhanced the effect of the lack of warmth in this house.

We came to a stop in front of one of the few oak doors we occasionally passed and Vince raised a fist to knock, before shoving it open and stepping aside to let me go first. The door fell heavily shut behind me as I stared at an oval table and the two men sitting at it.

"Ah!" One of them exclaimed. He had short dark hair that was a bit too long in the front so that a couple strands of hair fell into his eyes. He huffed in annoyance every time he had to brush his hair out of his face. He was similar in built and height as to Ray except for his brown eyes and his demeanour. He was slouching in his chair like a lazy cat but his hand sat close to the hilt of his gun stuffed openly in the waistband of his jeans, for all eyes to see. "Sleeping Beauty arises from the dead. Shall we take out the trumpets and the red carpet to celebrate the day?" The sneer on his face destroyed his attractive features. The bitter lines around his mouth and eyes deepened and pure unadulterated hatred seemed to pour out of every pore of his body.

Looking at the men, everything I'd happily shipped off to denial land came back once again: Fiscelli, the shooting, my shoulder wound… I didn't even realise I was backing away until I felt Vince's hands steady me.

"You look like a frightened rabbit," the man opposite Ray continued to jeer.

Ray frowned at me and gestured to a seat next to him. "Sit."

Reeling from all the confusion weighing down on me, I stayed where I was. "Who are you?" I asked.

Vince grabbed my uninjured arm and dragged me towards the table. As I got nearer, I noticed the remains of what had obviously been their supper littering the table.

Ray kicked out the chair next to him and Vince gave me another nudge. As soon as I sat down, there was a bowl with chicken soup and bread in front of me.

"Eat," Ray commanded as he took a clean cup and filled it with water.

"No," I said, ignoring the hunger tightening my stomach and focussed on Ray. "Answer some questions first. Where exactly am I?"

"You're in wonderland, Alice, don't you like it?" the guy in front of me sarcastically said. He didn't have Vince's calm dominant aura. His whole being exuded aggressiveness and violence. He snorted and his glare fell on Ray. "What the hell are we keeping her here for? She's nothing but trouble."

Ray released an exaggerated yawn. "We've discussed this before, Dan. It's too early in the day to get into another argument you'll ultimately lose."

Two impressive blotches of colour appeared on Dan's face, but he swallowed his anger and turned away.

I could hear Vince chuckling quietly to himself behind me as I began to eat.

"She eats like we've been starving her, though she's been treated like a fucking queen."

Ray, who had been watching me eat with a satisfied expression on his face, didn't spare him a glance. "Shut it, Dan."

Dan snorted in resentment and crossed his arms over his chest. I could feel his gaze on me as I finished my soup.

"Why am I here?"

"Not for personal pleasure, unfortunately," Ray answered, humour again present in his voice.

"Then what for?"

Ray folded his hands under his chin. "You need to answer a few questions, Stephanie, and then you can leave."

"Just like that?" I asked.

Ray held my gaze. "Just like that."

I nodded. "All right."

"What were you doing at Fiscelli's house, Stephanie? I can't imagine what you would have to do with him. Or was it about a case for the bond's office you're working on?"

It felt a little creepy that he knew so much about me while I knew next to nothing about him or the others.

"I was there for a case," I answered.

"So, Fiscelli's is linked to one of your FTA's?" Ray asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I'm trying to find Dickie Orr."

There was a moment of surprised silence.

Dan was looking at me in disbelief for a moment, then a bark of laughter escaped him. "You're joking, right?"

I couldn't see Vince's reaction, because he was still standing somewhere behind me, but I could see Ray's, and it was obvious that he wasn't half as surprised as Dan.

"Interesting," he murmured, as if I had only confirmed the conclusion he had reached, already. Raising his voice, he casually said, "It would definitely explain why Ranger-boy seems so awfully concerned." He briefly fished out my mobile, studying it with a curious smile and glanced at me. "Interesting indeed."

I shifted on my feet in discomfort. "Well, if you know Ranger, then you will also know that he's not going to wait patiently while I'm kept prisoner. He's probably analysing the structure of this building at this moment and planning how best barge in here."

"Your faith is so… touching and naïve," Dan spat in disgust. "This is not some kind of stupid fairy tale or something where the prince rescues the princess. He won't barge in here; he can't."

He said it with such finality that I had to wonder just how well these men knew Ranger. And why he was so confident that Ranger wouldn't try to enter this place. As long as I've known Ranger, there had been few places that Ranger couldn't or wouldn't break into, and if this house was one of them… what did that mean? Just who were these guys? Gang members? The mob?

The only thing I did know was that they absolutely didn't fall into the usual category of lunatics I had come across in the past as a bounty hunter. A sliver of apprehension tingled my spine.

"Who are you? What kind of people have the medical equipment stored to treat a gun shot wound?"

Ray shook his head. "You'll get to ask a few questions later, not now. If you were searching for Orr, why did you go to Fiscelli? Why did you think he had something to do with his disappearance?"

"I got a tip that Orr was meeting a couple guys regularly and found out Fiscelli was one of them."

Ray raised an eyebrow. "And by meeting you mean shady meeting or did you just want to hassle a few of your ex-husband's buddies?"

Dan muttered under his breath. "He married you?! Now I know he was a dumb piece of shit…"

"You know Dickie?" I asked.

Dan ran a hand through his hair and I was surprised to see him shoot Ray a look. It seemed like he was asking for permission for whatever he wanted to say. Apparently Ray didn't give it, because Dan's answer was chipped.

"Yeah."

"What did Fiscelli say? It didn't look like he was being very cooperative," Ray said.

I tried not to show my surprise at his words. It almost sounded like he stopped pretending they had showed up that day on accident.

"What were you doing there? You didn't intervene when I went to Fiscelli, neither did you when he was shot. What were you doing there and why were you watching his house? Or were you working together with those guys who shot him?"

Ray grimaced and scrubbed his face with both hands. "We were too late. We were too focused on you and what you were doing there to notice the other car."

Fiscelli's jerking body flitted across my mind. His stunned eyes wide open, his body littered with bullet holes and drenched with blood.

The feeling of panic flooded me in turbulent waves until a warm hand touched my shoulder. Vince stood next to me and regarded my face with the clinical calmness I was beginning to associate him with.

"Breathe, Stephanie."

My heart rate slowly calmed as a shrill ringing sound filtered through the images of Fiscelli and brought me back to the present.

Ray threw me a slightly concerned look before answering his cell phone and leaving the room.

Calming down, I became aware of the pair of eyes watching me. Dan glared at me steadily, seeming to track my every move.

Annoyance crept in. Starting to glare right back, I was still glad when I heard the doors open behind me. But instead of Ray, the fourth and last man from the car strode in.

He was smaller than the other three, his blond hair neatly cut, hands tucked casually in his jeans pockets and a tired smile on his angular face.

He blinked as his eyes fell on me. "You look good," he said by way of acknowledging my presence.

He seemed to want to say more, but Dan waved an impatient hand. "Yeah, yeah, sugar doll here is all nursed back to health. What did you find out?"

Vince walked past Dan and smacked his head. "Sit down, Jer. Get something to eat." Without waiting for an answer, Vince gestured to a chair and fetched another bowl and filled it with soup.

The blond man sat wearily down but didn't eat. Instead, he smiled at me and held out a hand.

"I'm Jerome by the way."

Surprised, I shook his hand. "I'm Stephanie."

He continued to smile.

Dan turned his sneering face to me. "Romeo here has a way with the ladies," he said and looked me up and down in disgust. "Don't think you're anything special. I still can't believe Dickie ever married you."

Jerome looked up from his food and gave me a brief astonished look. "And what? You think one of those prostitutes you're always sniffing around would be more his style?"

Dan sat shocked for a moment before a look of resentment flashed across his face.

In that moment, the doors burst open again and Ray marched back in with a satisfied smirk.

"All right, people, time to go. Big boss isn't getting any younger."

Dan sprang to his feet. "What? We're gonna see him? Now?" He held up one hand. "Wait. Don't say anything. Let's just go. I'm sick of waiting around here doing nothing."

Ray moved around the table and clapped a hand on Jerome's back. Looking him up and down critically, his smile fell a little.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, Jerome. You can tell us later what you've found out."

The spoon clattered, as the blond pushed his bowl aside. "No. I'm coming with you. I can tell you on the way."

Ray didn't look convinced but didn't press. Instead he turned an impish smile on me.

"What about you, Steph? Up for a little road trip?"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Now go get changed." Whistling to himself, he filled his cup with coffee.

Vince escorted me back to the room I was staying in and gave me fresh clothes that fit slightly better than the robe. Vince put my throbbing left arm into a sling, and now clad in jeans and a comfortably loose sweater, I was led out of the room, down a flight of stairs and out into the streaming sunlight. Dan sneered at the sight of a black shiny SUV across the street. The hair on my neck zipped with sudden electricity, but before I could get a better look at the car, Dan grabbed my uninjured arm and roughly yanked me forward and to an equally dark coloured jeep.

As soon as I was pushed into the backseat, I swivelled around and stared across the street.

And my heart jumped a beat.

Ray settled into the driver's seat with Jerome taking the passenger's seat, but it took Dan sliding in next to me and shutting the door with a loud bang that made me realise that Ranger had no intention of coming over and doing his Rambo moves.

Ray started the car and drove past Ranger with a smirk before starting a conversation with Jerome, but I didn't hear what they were talking about. I couldn't. Again, the panic came sudden and even more viciously this time. Every time I had been in a tight situation before – no matter how crazy or dangerous – Ranger had been there to do everything in his power to rescue me; even going as far as taking a bullet for me, as killing a man for me.

But not this time obviously. Fear battled anger inside of me. What did this all mean? Who were these men that Ranger didn't see it fit to step in and stop them from taking me? And where were they bringing me?

Dan's mocking smile scraped at my last nerves. "Told you he could do nothing," he slowly said, savouring seeing me upset. "I could kill you now and you would die knowing Prince Charming had nothing better to do than looking the other way."

My startled gaze flew to his face and I was thrown by the cold determination I saw there. He wasn't one of the regular lunatics from my past, no, he was a cold-blooded killer. It was the first time I truly realized what these guys were capable of since staying with them. Buckets of ice ran through my veins and froze me on the spot.

"Put that away," Ray's fury filled command cut through the tension.

"Why?" Dan didn't meet Ray's gaze in the rear view mirror, instead his eyes stayed on my face, showing me his anger and full-blown hatred. "Why did you bring her to the house and nurse her back to health? Why are we taking her to the Big Boss? He has bigger problems at the moment than a stupid a snooping bitch like her. She's just a worthless piece of baggage. Orr knew best when he just up and left her," he spat. "Come on, Steph, tell us how you caught a successful man like Orr before showing your true colours. Did you play the damsel in distress card with him as well? Seems to work every time, doesn't it? At least he came to his senses and got rid of you. What are you really trying to pull here? Want to get revenge on him, is that it?"

Seeing his controlled rage, a strange kind of knowledge flooded me. I was going to die. My body started to tremble; sweat broke out on my forehead. This couldn't be it. I didn't want to die. My arms started to jerk in reaction, but Dan only pressed the cold steel deeper into my flesh. I stilled instantly, but the trembling didn't stop.

The tip of the blade pricked my skin every time I tried to swallow, reminding me of Dan's volatile temper. Panic and anger were still battling inside of me, making me blind to anything else outside of Dan, the blade and my throat. Until anger won. I wasn't helpless and I wasn't weak. Ignoring Ray and Jerome's shouts and ignoring the ice cold sweat running down my back I focussed on the anger.

Keep him talking, Steph, keep him distracted, was the only thing running through my head.

"Dickie didn't leave me, I left him when I found out he was cheating on me."

The cold intensity of Dan's eyes was replaced by condescension. I noticed his fingers flex around the handle of the knife. He wouldn't be able to hold his arm up this way for long.

"Shows only that Orr was smart enough not to fall for your tricks, and neither did Ranger, did he? The men in your life seem to find it easy enough to give you up."

The anger kept mounting and I welcomed it, since it left no place for anything else like fear or doubt. Dan sat motionless, holding the knife unwaveringly to my skin while intently gauging my reactions. He really seemed to enjoy getting a rise out of someone other than himself and it almost made me forget the knife at my throat in favour of my uninjured clenched fist in my lap.

But he wouldn't be able to keep his concentration up for long. Forcing myself not to react, I waited. And luck was on my side.

The door behind Dan was flung open and an enraged Ray dragged Dan out of the car by his shirt collar. I sat stock still for a moment, vaguely hearing Jerome talking soothingly to me, before I scrambled for the other door and stumbled out of the car. I didn't try to stop and orientate myself. I simply ran, as fast as I could and without once looking back. I heard yelling and shouting behind me and worked my legs harder. I dimly realised I was heading down a narrow alleyway between tall factory-like buildings; the stench of oil barely penetrated my senses.

I turned left when the path forked and then right, searching for a place to hide but there was nothing but walls and the alleyway stretching on in front of me in a seemingly endless labyrinth.

I didn't know how long I had been running before a man stepped into my path and I came to an abrupt halt.

Ranger.

A feeling of relief, so strong it nearly buckled my knees, swept over me at the sight of him. His familiar chocolate brown eyes swapped over my body in a quick survey with his eyes lingering a second longer on my sling. His lips moved but there was no sound other than the hissing of blood in my ears.

Abruptly I was pushed down into a crouch, head between my knees and Ranger's warm soothing hand rubbing the back of my neck. It was such a typical situation for the both of us that I had to suppress a hysterical laugh.

Soon my breathing became easier and the chaos that had raged war in my head soothed; and the fear returned.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I ducked away from his hand and stood up. "How did you get here? Did you follow us?"

Ranger stepped closer again and his whole being seemed to be intent on only me.

"How's the shoulder?" he asked.

I blinked twice as it took me a moment to understand what he was talking about.

"Throbbing," I said, rubbing it unconsciously until Ranger placed a hand over mine to still my fingers.

"Anything else?" he asked and I saw his eyes wander over my throat his jaw flexed.

"I'm fine," I said.

Ranger's other hand slowly rose to my face, his fingertips tracing softly over my cheekbone. His hand still held mine as he leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on my lips. As he stepped back my breathing had picked up again but this time for another reason altogether.

Ranger's eyes darted to somewhere behind me and now I could hear my pursuers approaching.

"We have to leave, Ranger. Where's your car?" I said frantically, trying to take a step forward, but Ranger still blocked my way.

"No, Steph, I can't take you with me." I stopped trying to get him to move. "I can't, not yet. Listen-"

"What do you mean you can't? Are you going to just leave me here, with them?"

What was going on?

"Listen, Steph, you need to stay with Ray for a few more days. Trust me, you're safe."

I could hardly believe what he was saying. Pushing his hands off of me, I took a step back, hearing running footsteps coming nearer.

"So why are you here if not to take me with you? Why follow us?" I almost shouted. Disappointed and another wave of fear crashed into me. Why was Ranger acting so strange?

His chest rose and fell heavily once before he admitted in a near whisper, "I needed to see for myself that you were all right, Babe." Unexpectedly, a touch of warmth spread through me at his words and fed me even as Dan rounded the corner and destroyed the moment.

His face twisted as he took us both in. "Manoso."

Ranger returned the greeting with a barely-there nod and brushed a kiss across my earlobe. "Trust me, Babe." And then he was gone.

Dan watched him leave. "Well, what do you say to that? Prince Charming did come; he only forgot to bring the chariot along."

I didn't even think as I whirled around and punched him squarely in the face. There was a crunching sound, a pain filled shout and more footsteps as Ray and Jerome caught up to us.

Ray and Jerome were only stunned for a brief moment before amusement took its place. Without sympathy or questions asked they escorted us back to the car, this time with Dan in the front and Jerome with me in the back seat.

In the first few moments of the drive back, I was still prepared for another attack from any of these men, but nothing happened, and gradually, exhaustion blocked every other feeling out.

An hour later, I found myself in my room. Vince had been surprised to see us back so soon and his questions had triggered a vicious fight between Ray and Dan. Ray had been beyond angry for Dan "going crazy like that" in the car, while Dan called him a "trusting fool" for not realising that we had been followed by Ranger. A tired Jerome had again tried to step in and diffuse the tempers but had eventually grown tired of it and ordered them to take their fight outside. I didn't know what happened then, because Vince had chosen that moment to lead me into a small hall on the first floor littered with a bunch of medical equipment. Ignoring my questions where all this stuff had come from, he took a look at my throat and cleaned it before applying a band-aid to it.

Now, a couple hours later, afternoon sun shone into my room as exhaustion took me over. The house had been eerily quiet for a while now and I wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad sign.

Closing the blinds, I tried to take off my street clothes, but my shoulder hurt too much, and feeling too tired and sore to try to sort out what was going on with Ranger and Ray and his friends I slipped fully clothed under the covers and fell into a deep sleep.

So deep, in fact, that I didn't hear the door being opened or the man leaning over me.

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_Mmh, well, while re-reading this I did get the impression the chapter was moving a bit too fast and Steph was in too much of an emotional roller-coaster, but honestly, I've rewritten this chapter so many times, I couldn't even begin to think of how to smooth things more out. The next chapters will be better, hopefully._


	7. Tease

Disclaimer: I don't own the Stephanie Plum series or its characters. I don't earn any money with this story, and the plot is completely fictitious!

Author's Note: Thank you, Suzanne, for helping me with the chapter! Your suggestions always inspire me to see new perspectives on the story. And thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm always happy to read your thoughts. :) You should also know that **I'll probably be unable to update until mid-March**. I might continue writing a paragraph/ a page or more of the next chapter during the upcoming weeks and if you want to see the progress you should check out my profile. I'll try to remember to write an update there occassionally. And last but not least, happy new year, everybody! Hope you had fun over the holidays!

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**Chapter 6**

**Tease**

I awoke early the next morning. It was still dark outside, but I was fully awake. Struggling out of bed, I wondered what to do. All of my senses were on alert, especially after my strange near-escape the previous day, and I was itching to snoop and make sense of everything that had happened since I met Fiscelli.

Working with what I had gathered so far, I knew I was still somewhere in Trenton. The massive factories and a glimpse of the New Jersey State Prison had been a dead giveaway. At least I knew I hadn't been shanghaied out of state. It was something.

But the question still remained who Ray and the others were and what was their connection to Ranger and Dickie. It didn't make sense.

Pacing the length of the room, I eyed the door speculatively. As far as I knew, I was being locked in every night, while during the day I was always surrounded by at least one of the guys. Gripping the door knob turned it slowly and was surprised when the door easily opened. Not questioning my good luck, I opened it wider.

Slipping out of the room and into the dark hallway, I took a moment to decide which way to go. My room was on the second floor of the two-story-building and apart from mine I had counted four other doors on the same floor. The first floor was taken up entirely by the "medical hall" and a large exercise room – I knew that because Vince dragged me there daily in order to rebuild muscle mass in my injured shoulder. The ground floor had the kitchen and the dining room and a couple other rooms I hadn't yet seen.

Ray usually was the first to see me during the day when he came to wake me up for breakfast each morning. Judging from the position of the moon in the darkened sky, I still had a few more hours until then.

Following my nose, I swiftly turned to the right. Weak moonlight shone through a window at the end of the hallway and was reflected off of the white walls on either side of me. I tried to tread carefully over the wooden floor, but every now and then a light creaking sound escaped beneath my feet.

Apprehension crept up my spine as I reached the first door. These four other rooms could very likely be other bedrooms that Ray and the others used, and the thought of being caught in the act of snooping by Dan wasn't a very pretty one. But then again, I wasn't even sure if all four of them lived here. I had a feeling that wasn't the case, because Jerome was gone most of the time and I saw Dan only at meals, if at all. Vince and Ray were the only ones I was almost constantly with.

Hesitating for a few more moments, I turned the handle and pushed the door open. Just like in my room, moonlight flooded through two large windows along the side of the room, touching on the bed, a cupboard and a vanity – but it didn't look lived-in. Patting along the side of the wall next to the door, I found the switch and turned the lights on. Stepping further into the room, I noticed a few more things. The bed was made and no clothes or other personal articles littered the room. The bathroom was clean and empty of any toiletries. The cupboards in the bedroom were empty as well.

Backing out of the room again, I closed the door softly behind me. Abruptly, dim light flooded the hallway from an old lamp hanging limply from the ceiling.

"You're quite the early riser, aren't you, Steph?"

Whirling around, I almost ran smack into Vince. He wore a t-shirt and sweat pants and a towel was slung around his neck. In his hand he held a bottle of water. He looked casual and alert at the same time.

"Not even Ray is up at this hour," he continued, studying me closely.

I refused to squirm under his scrutiny and instead took in the mildly curios expression on his face and the relaxed stance of his body in, and decided to try my luck. "Do you sleep here?"

Vince narrowed his eyes, so that only silver slants glinted down at me.

"Sometimes." His eyes looked a bit alarmed as he shifted slightly backwards. I tried not to take it personally and instead focussed on pressing my luck a little further.

"And the others?"

Vince shrugged in a deliberately casual move, though there was nothing casual about the way he continued to scrutinize me. "If the situation calls for it, yes. Why the sudden interest?"

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "There's nothing sudden about it. I know nothing about who you are or what you're doing here. I don't even know if you use your real names in front of me. Maybe you're undercover cops. Maybe you're drug dealers; or spies."

Vince seemed to suddenly grow a few inches as he straightened his spine and looked down his nose at me. "And this is our secret hide-out? You've got quite the imagination there, Steph. Ray will like that."

"And you've managed to evade every question I've asked. Isn't that what cops are best at?" I said, thinking in frustration of all the times Morelli refused to tell me anything about a case we were both working on. "Maybe you're using fake names, too."

Vince's face relaxed a little and he even managed to look amused. "Our names are real."

So far, so good. "Ray said this is his house. Do you also live here?"

Vince looked a bit bored by the question and his stance relaxed. "It's his house and you could call it our headquarters. Dan, Jerome and I have our own apartments somewhere else but we usually spend a lot of time here."

I hesitated a bit with my next question. "Are you cops?"

My direct question obviously caught him off-guard, because even though there was amusement on his face at my stubbornness, it seemed to be more grim than genuine and I knew he wouldn't answer any more questions. "Did you find something while you were snooping around that told you that or did something else trigger this theory?"

I rubbed my shoulder in absent-minded frustration. "So you won't tell me what's going on here, I take it?"

"Mr Piccio is coming over later in the day. He'll tell you everything you need to know."

I furrowed my brow. "Mr Piccio?"

Vince smiled and turned to go. "We usually call him the 'Big Boss'. You should go back to your room now. I'm sure Ray will soon come to get you for breakfast."

I nodded and moved to follow him back down the hall, when he suddenly stopped and threw me an inscrutable look over his shoulder. "Why didn't you try to leave?"

I knew he meant why instead of snooping around I hadn't grasped the chance to get out of their clutches. Simple answer if he really knew anything about me. "Because I want to know who you are." I wanted to know who these men were that Ranger would think I was safer with them than without them. And since Ranger and these guys seemed to have the same bad case of close-lipness, I gathered the only way to gather information was to snoop at the source.

Vince continued down the hall and I followed at a distance.

Just as I got back to my room, Ray burst through the door, a scowl on his face. With a curt greeting he led me into the dining room. And he wasn't the only one who looked like he'd like to bash a few heads together. Jerome still looked pale but at the least smiled when we entered, while Dan only threw a glare in our direction from the kitchenette before turning back to the stove. There was a purplish bruise on his jaw that clashed rather horribly with the red colour tingeing his cheeks.

Breakfast was a quite and uncomfortably long affair. That is, until Vince stepped into the room.

Bursting with energy and looking more relaxed than an hour before, he threw his sweat-drenched towel at Ray's head.

"How's the jaw, Dan?"

Dan took his time carefully chewing his food.

"Good," he finally muffled out only to immediately wince and groan in pain.

Vince looked him over briefly with a medical eye before dismissing him. "Relax, Dan. Put some ice on it and it will be fine in a couple days."

A smug Ray threw the towel away from him. "Yeah, Dan, don't throw such a sissy fit. I'm sure Steph here can pack a mean punch, but what? Are you made of sugar? Maybe you shouldn't go out today; it looks like it might rain."

I almost choked on my coffee. I did this to him? Wide-eyed I looked at Dan's bruise more closely. Well, if only Ranger had seen that. He surely wouldn't have laughed at me then.

Dan growled with his mouth firmly shut and moved to stand up. "You punched me too, you bastard!"

Ray leaned back in his seat and tipped a finger to his chin in mock-thought. "You know, I could really get used to this quiet. No cusses, no foul language. Maybe Steph and I should punch you out more often."

Okay, maybe it hadn't been only my punch that did that. But still, I felt pretty good. Maybe Ray was right. Punching someone was much more gratifying than getting all emotional.

Vince smirked and shook his head. "Enough, Ray. You've had your fun." He glared at Dan until he fell back into his seat again, and downed half of a second water bottle. With a satisfied sigh, his eyes met mine. "Did you know, Ray? Steph here thinks we're cops who are working undercover."

It surprised me that Vince would make a joke out of it when only a few hours ago he'd seemed so tense when I'd asked him about it. Looking at the others, it was clear that they all found this more than slightly amusing. Even Dan showed a grimace of a smile.

Ray laughed loudly and leaned over to me to look directly into my face. "Really. What makes you think that? Because we're so ruggedly handsome? Or is it because we always carry a big and loaded guns around with us." Jerome chuckled quietly and Ray winked at me. He was obviously in a particularly good mood now, though why it changed so fast from anger to cheerful I had no idea. I didn't even understand why it was so funny that I thought they were undercover cops.

I mean, really, apart from all their vagueness I have no idea what gave me that impression of all things…

Dan patted his jaw again and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

I shoved fork and knife aside and turned in my seat to get a better view of Ray's face. "So what, you're not cops?"

Ray raised an eyebrow. "You think we wouldn't have already told you if we were?"

Point taken.

"Would have saved us quite a bit of time and trouble, right, Dan?" Dan shot him a dark look and continued grumbling silently to himself. The ever present two blotches of red colour adorned his cheeks again as he stabbed at his food.

If he wasn't so scary, it would have actually been quite funny teasing him – like baiting a crazed piranha.

"How do you know Ranger?"

Ray rocked back on the back legs of his chair, not answering.

"I thought the deal was that you'd eventually give me a few answers."

Ray squeezed his eyes shut, bad mood returning and roughed up his hair.

"Look, I know this may seem like a foreign concept to you, but could you stop being nosey for just a few more hours? Do you think you could do that?"

I tensed. What was it with this guy? Could he maybe just stick to one mood for more than five minutes? A deal was a deal, right? It wasn't like I asked him for world peace. Talk about drama queen. Men.

Vince abruptly and very noisily stood up and returned with an ice bag from the kitchen and tossed it at Dan's head.

It didn't cut through the uncomfortable tension but it brought the focus of Ray's cold eyes away from me and for that I was grateful.

Jerome buttoned his shirt and rolled up the sleeves. "When will he be here?"

Ray shrugged. "Don't know. He said something about noon. Could be later, could be earlier. You know how he is."

"Is he coming just because of her?" Dan got out as he jerked his head in my direction.

"No," Ray denied, looking somber.

0000000000

I was in the exercise room a few hours later with Vince pushing me to do some workout for my injured shoulder when Dan burst through the room.

"Come downstairs. He's here."

My stomach dropped a bit as I saw an uncharacteristically serious expression on Vince's or Dan's face.

Vince let go of my arm and we both followed Dan as he led the way to a room on the first floor I hadn't been in before. It was a dark room with a few small windows, giving the room the view of a large backyard, and dark furniture. Various book shelves and a big TV screen took up the walls. Black leather couches surrounded a large oak table and three men turned their heads as the door closed behind us.

My gaze focussed on only one of them.

He looked like an elderly gentleman. His short hair grey neatly groomed back on his head. His face weathered and full of crinkles but also relaxed. His whole posture was exactly that – relaxed. He wore a dark blue suit underneath his coat and expensive shoes. Legs crossed, hands folded in his lap, he looked me over just as curiously as I had him. But an aura of power engulfed him and I noticed the way Ray and the others were watching him: respectfully and carefully.

He got to his feet slowly and held a hand out to me. "You must be Stephanie Plum." I took his hand and he shook it firmly. "Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the space next to him on the couch.

I warily sat down. Ray sat on the couch opposite me with Vince, Dan and Jerome standing tensely behind him. Two unfamiliar men, I hadn't noticed before, stood on either side of the door, watching us.

The older, obviously Italian man continued to look at me with a friendly smile. "My name is Massimiliano Piccio. And this is my grandson Severino," he said, indicating a handsome man in his mid-twenties in a black suit with long black hair and multiple rings glittering on his hands sitting on his other side.

Severino nodded coldly at me.

"I'm glad we finally get to meet. I'm sorry for any trouble we have been causing you," Piccio said with a sideways glare at Dan. Dan was rubbing his chin and rolling his eyes, but the deep flush on his cheeks gave his embarrassment away.

"I hope your wound has been seen to?" Piccio inquired in a fatherly concerned voice.

I nodded and adjusted my sling. "Yes." In a way Piccio reminded me of my mother; all gentle inquisition and mother hen concern, but without the angry bouts of ironing. I leaned back on the couch and inwardly began to wonder why Severino was here and not his father.

Piccio nodded back and his smile faded. "Ray, get her a glass of water," he commanded, staying silent until Ray came back and placed a glass of water on the table in front of me. "Good. Now, it is to my understanding that you were at Gregory Fiscelli's house during the shooting and were hit yourself. Is that correct?"

"Yes," I truthfully answered, tensing a bit.

"And you were there for a case – Dickie Orr, am I right?"

"Yes, that's true."

"Well," Piccio said, peering closely at my face. "Were you able to gain any information from Fiscelli before he was shot?"

I shook my head slowly. "No, he didn't tell me anything. Do you know who shot him?"

Piccio looked disappointed. "No and it isn't in my interest to know who shot him. His connection to Orr was the only thing valuable about him."

I recoiled a little, still thinking of the way Fiscelli's body jerked on the ground. Strangely enough, I wasn't the only one who didn't like that cold response. Severino flinched and Ray pressed his lips tightly together and averted his face in annoyance.

Piccio didn't seem to notice. "Do you know anything else about Orr or his whereabouts?"

"No, Fiscelli was my only lead. But why do you want to find Orr? I don't understand what you have to do with him," I asked what felt like the thousandth time.

Piccio rubbed his hands together and exchanged glances with Ray. "To put it simply, he messed up a case for us."

Seemed logical, if I thought about it, at least a part of it. "A court case, you mean? So what, he was your attorney and lost a case for you? I still don't understand why you would go searching for him."

"We would just like to ask him a few questions. He left much too soon after the case was over and there are still a few things that need to be cleared up."

Right. Looking at these guys, the question why Dickie ran didn't seem to be a question any longer. My hands clammed up a bit and I rubbed them.

"So what do you want with me?"

Piccio smiled again. "We have a proposition to offer you. You work together with us to find Orr and we give you any support and protection you could want."

That I did not expect. Hiding my astonishment, I cast a quick glance at Ray's unmoving face. "Why would I need protection? And from whom?"

Piccio grimaced. "Orr's secretary was found dead in Orr's office last night." He turned to Jerome. "I want you to check it out." Jerome bowed his head and left the room swiftly. A silent Ray watched him go with a thoughtful frown on his face. He had been quiet during the whole conversation and it was clear who the "Big Boss" here was and a sense of unease grew in my chest.

"How could I help you? You seem to have the personnel and resources to work without me."

I could see the muscles in Dan's cheeks contracting as he tried not to voice his agreement.

Piccio chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You have a good track record with finding people who are in hiding. Plus, you have valuable connections. We have the means to let you follow every lead you think could be useful."

This was all too strange. First I was shot, then I was kidnapped and now my kidnappers want me to help them find Dickie. Nothing in my life seemed to make sense anymore. Maybe Morelli was right. Maybe I should find another job… yeah, right. I could also shoot him in the foot if he every came near me again. And shoot Ranger in the other foot for stranding me and being his typically cryptic self.

Now, that was a pleasant thought…

"I don't even know why Dickie is hiding," I stalled. "Have you any ideas?"

Dan hissed.

Piccio smiled to himself and looked oddly pleased. "Maybe, but Orr's reasons for running are his own. You don't need to know anymore at this point. If you agree to work with us, our support is yours in every way you need it. What is your answer?"

He made it sound like I had a choice. Looking at the stern faces around me I wasn't so sure that was the case. But on the other hand, Ranger did leave me here with these men; maybe he wanted me to work with them.

"Dickie is one of the FTAs for the bond's office. As long as I get the bail money, I'd be happy to have a little help."

Dan was back to muttering again. "Greedy bitch."

Yeah, and also a suspicious one. If I got Dickie to the police station to get the forms filled out for the bond's office then hopefully he'd be safe from whatever these guys here wanted from him.

Piccio extracted his hand again. "Agreed." I shook it and hoped I wasn't going to regret this at some point.

The atmosphere in the room changed at once. Everyone looked a little more at ease and Piccio was looking fatherly again.

"Now that business is over," he said, "tell me a little about yourself, Miss Plum. I hear you're from Italian descent?"

"Part Hungarian and part Italian, actually."

"I think I've met your grandmother once," Piccio thought aloud, a whimsical smile playing around his lips. "Lovely lady that Edna."

Severino shifted forward in his seat and stood. "If everything is done here, I think it is time to leave, Grandfather."

Piccio's head jerked up. "You're right, of course." Patting his grandson's arm, he stood as well. "Youth today," he said with a benevolent wink, "have no time to sit down and have a nice conversation anymore. Miss Plum, I believe Mr. Manoso will be waiting for you outside. I am sure we will be seeing each other again. Ray, please escort Miss Plum outside. Dan, I'd like a word with you before I leave."

Ray smiled politely at Piccio and said a brief goodbye before ushering me out of the room. Vince flanked my other side, with my purse dangling from his fingers. Blinking, I took it. I had completely forgotten about it. Rummaging through it, I took note of my wallet, my taser, my car keys, pepper spray and several other items I usually carried around with me.

Before I knew it, I stood outside in light rain in front of a black Porsche, purse in hand, other arm in a sling and Ray and Vince on either side.

The door to the driver's side opened and Ranger gracefully slide out.

My first instinct was to rush around the car, hop inside and empty out the next shop that sold donuts. I needed some serious sugar.

My second instinct was to slug Ranger with my purse.

"Catch," Ray said and tossed Ranger a cell phone. Ranger caught it, then handed it over to me and I realised it was mine. "Big Boss says hi."

Ranger inclined his head. "Get in the car, Babe."

Ranger's shin looked really inviting for a visit with my foot. Getting angry all over again, I gave a mocking two finger salute, wave to Ray and Vince – who seemed to be amusing themselves at my expanse – and got into the passenger seat.

"See you soon, Steph!" Ray shouted after me.

Ranger lingered a bit and said something to Ray before getting in as well and starting the car.

"You okay, Babe?"

Really, and here I thought at least Batman with his oh so superior senses had a better understanding of a woman's mood. Seems like all men are clueless, Ranger included after all.

"No. But I'm sure you could help me out," I said lowly, trying not too sound too angry.

Ranger quirked up one corner of his mouth and there was suddenly a hand on my knee. It was a nice hand, brown and big and strong – and slowly moving up my leg.

My right eye started ticking.

I saw Ranger's chest quiver in silent laughter and the hand vanished. "Sorry, Babe. You looked a little lost there, thought I might give you something pleasant to think about."

Pushing the familiar hot flashes aside, I tried to gather my wits and focus on my anger at him, but it had been a while since my last Ranger-induced high. My eyes fell on his lips.

Mmmh. Full, rosy, inviting and slightly quirking up at the corners…

Realising his amusement, I shook myself out of my horny state and tried to focus on the real issue here: me not getting any kind of answers.

"What's going on here, Ranger?"

I was getting really tired of always asking this question. Unfortunately, Ranger had the same closed-off expression on his face as Ray did every time he evaded my questions.

But I didn't back down.

"Why didn't you take me with you yesterday? What was that about?"

Ranger manoeuvred smoothly through traffic and already we were passing streets that felt more familiar to me. "It was for your safety, Babe."

Right. That explained everything. Not.

"My safety? Was I in danger? And why would I be safer with Ray than with you?" The more questions tumbled out of my mouth, the more frustrated I got. Really, was it so hard to just receive one understandable answer that left no further questions?

"I want you to give the case to me, Babe. I'll handle it," Ranger said, not glancing at me. If he had, I'm sure he would have seen what a mistake his dismissive order had been. I was surprised he could still see through the windshield for the steam coming from my ears. Or something.

A few moments later we stopped at a red light and without a word I unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped out of the car. It felt a little like déjà vu of my near-escape from Dan the day before. I really needed more female acquaintances that weren't such closed-mouthed, ordering me around idiots. Maybe Lula could help me find something out about Dickie's secretary. Meanwhile Connie could start a search in her data base for Ray, Piccio and the others…

See, I didn't need Ranger. Or Morelli. Or any man.

A warm hand wrapped itself around my uninjured arm and I was whirled around.

"Where are you going, Steph?" Ranger asked, now looking intensely at my face, his brow slightly furrowed.

"If you can't give me straight answers, Ranger then you can just leave me alone."

Ranger blinked once at my anger. "Steph, this is a really dangerous situation. You don't know what you're.."

I felt a sudden itch to taser him and kick his shin. "You're right, I don't know anything. And that's entirely your fault because of your cryptic answers and cryptic warnings and cryptic lifestyle and cryptic lines. I've had it! If you think I can't handle the case then you and Morelli and Ray and all the others can just go to hell! I want to go home and I want to see Rex. And then I'm going to find the ugly ass of my ex-husband! And I don't need your permission for any of that!"

I felt like a banshee. If I had any energy left, I probably would have been horrified over the fact that I was turning into my mother. As it was, there seemed to be only two options left at this point: hit someone or comfort food.

I was trembling from head to toe and Ranger suddenly blurred a little along the sides. A warm hand settled at the base of my neck and in the next second I was enveloped in warmth. Without a word, Ranger settled both arms around me and pressed me tightly against him. A couple tears slid down my face and I burrowed my face deeper into his shirt. It felt nice. It was better than comfort food and better than hitting Dan – but only slightly – and it was dangerous.

"You're safe now," Ranger murmured into my hair. "Everything's okay." He didn't get it, I wasn't scared, I was mad and frustrated and tired and homesick.

There was a strange humming in my chest that made me nervous. Ranger's comforting warmth was dangerous, pushing away from Ranger, and with a big sigh I wiped my face clean and followed him back to where he'd parked the car in a hurry. Getting inside, Ranger didn't immediately start the engine; instead he turned to face me.

"Ray is part of the Italian mafia here in this area. Orr was their attorney. Orr made a mistake and now there are a lot of people who want to track him down." Maybe he did get it. Ranger's hand slowly rose before finding its way to my right cheek. "I don't want you involved, Stephanie. Piccio asked me to take on this case." And then again, maybe not….but instead of going postal over the cave man act, even if he did use please, my mind latched on to the information. I bit my lower lip as one of my theories had just been confirmed. So Ray and the others were members of the mob, and probably with Piccio as their "Big mafia boss".

"If they're so dangerous, why did you leave me behind with them?" I asked sharply.

"Piccio is in a fight with another gang at the moment. That's why Fiscelli was killed; he was a member of that other gang. I felt it safer leaving you with Ray until both gangs knew you weren't a threat."

A threat? A threat to whom?

"Piccio asked me to work together with them," I said.

A muscle jumped in Ranger's cheek. He didn't look happy.

"Is this where we go back to you trying to handcuff me to the car and lock me up inside the bat cave?" I mused out loud.

We both looked down at the handcuffs tucked into his utility belt.

I scrambled for the door again, but it wouldn't budge. Looking back at Ranger, I saw his hand on one of the buttons underneath the door handle to his left.

"Babe," he said and smiled a little smile, chocolate brown eyes shining.

Smug bastard.

"You know you can't keep me locked up," I told him. "You'd need to go out and do your Batman moves and I'd find a way to leave."

Ranger considered this. "I could have Tank babysit you."

"And make him risk never getting Lula to have monkey sex with him again? I don't think so."

Ranger gave me a look that said 'And he'd risk making me angry instead?' Well, if he put it like that…

Starting the car, Ranger easily pulled back into traffic.

"I'm doing this case, Ranger, you can't stop me. And you said it yourself that those members of the gangs now know I'm not a threat. So I'll be fine." I hoped.

Ranger's gaze skimmed over my sling and there was a subtly tightening of his mouth. It was a great mouth. Though it had been a few days since I'd last tasted it, my lips began tingling at just the memory of it. Since his mouth didn't open to speak again and my hormones were beginning to go a little too crazy I snapped my gaze up to his hair. Black, shiny, orderly put in a ponytail. I wish he'd let it hang loosely around his shoulders so I could rake my hand through it while I-

"On one condition."

Since when did he have conditions for sex? Oh yeah, right, since he thought Morelli and I had a serious thing that was going to pull us together again every time we were in an off-stage. Mmh.

"You work with me."

"Huh?"

"You take on this case, then you take me on as well."

The hot flashes rolling over me in waves turned into pricks of indignation.

"I can do this without your help."

Ranger didn't look impressed. "Do you have a lead?"

Damn. "No."

Ranger pulled into my parking lot and I had never been happier to see my apartment building. Ranger followed me upstairs and went through the routine of checking all my rooms before letting me inside. It was a good feeling being home again. My answering machine was blinking like crazy but I ignored it for the moment. Throwing my purse onto the kitchen counter, I turned to Ranger to tell him to leave so I could take a shower, when the empty living room table caught my sight. Where was Rex?

"Morelli took him to his house," Ranger's voice rang through my panicked thoughts.

I calmed down for a moment before I remembered my fight with Joe and frowned. "Why?"

Ranger looked steadily at me and stayed silent.

Great. Just what I needed: another fight with Morelli.

Placing a hand on my lower back, Ranger pulled me closer to him. "You sure you're okay?"

I don't think I ever said I was okay.

"Sure."

Ranger slowly leaned down; his eyes still connected with mine, and let his soft lips touch mine for a few short moments. A sigh escaped my lips at the same time my toes began to curl and I reached up to grab the back of his head and deepen the kiss, but ended up clinging to his shoulders instead as Ranger's hands gripped my ass in a sudden move and I was hoisted up onto the kitchen table. Spreading my thighs, he stood so close that his body touched mine from the hips upward and his mouth slanted over mine with a ferocity that he had to place a steadying hand on my neck or I would have been knocked down on my back in no time. Completely encased in his arms, the feel of his body, the scent and taste of him, delicious tension began to steadily build inside of me. My whole body felt on fire and still I was begging for more. Arching upward and trying to get even closer to him, I almost fell off the table when he backed away before my hand could get a tighter grip on him. Slowly taking in the sight of me with a smoldering gaze, he was gone with a "See you tomorrow, Babe" before my sexually hazed vision had cleared. Suddenly I was alone with my harsh gasping breathing and a throbbing sensation that didn't stem from my shoulder.

Angry, frustrated and horny, I took a cold shower – which wasn't easy with only one hand available – and plunked down on the couch with a beer in front of me and the TV blasting, even though it was only early afternoon and I had a lot to do. Reintroducing denial-land to my current thoughts and fears, I curled my legs under my body and watched a cartoon.

I fell asleep within minutes. My last coherent thoughts were of a deliciously butt-naked Ranger instead of a moody Ray and his group of crazy cryptic loons.

* * *

_Please review. I'd love to know what you think. _


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